Windmill cleaning
If you searched for "windmill cleaning", you are in the right place. In the industry they are called wind turbines, and we clean them with drones flown from the ground.
Windmill and wind turbine are the same machine
A modern windmill is a wind turbine. "Windmill" is the everyday word and still the one most people outside the industry use; "wind turbine" is the technical term and the one you will see in contracts, maintenance manuals and the rest of this site.
The machine has three parts that get dirty and get cleaned: the blades (with the hub, the central piece where they join), the tower that holds it up, and the nacelle, the housing at the top where the components sit.
Why they get dirty and what happens if they are not cleaned
Dust, salt if the site is near the sea, and insect residue. It accumulates year after year, and the visible effect is what the before and after photographs show: brown streaks running down the blade and the tower.
We are not going to tell you how much production is lost to that. Figures circulate in the sector and none comes with a measurement we can verify at a specific Spanish site. What is a fact is that the surface degrades, and that maintaining a machine meant to stand for twenty years includes cleaning it.
How a windmill is cleaned by drone
An industrial drone, fed by hose from pressure equipment on the ground, works over the surface of the machine spraying water and degreaser. The pilot never leaves the site and nobody climbs the windmill.
It used to be done with ropes: a certified technician climbed to the nacelle and abseiled down the blade, section by section, for four or five days per machine. With a drone it is one day.
Who books this
Wind farm owners, maintenance providers and turbine manufacturers. It is not a service for private individuals: the minimum order is four machines per campaign, because below that it does not pay to move the crew.
- Duration
- 1 working day per turbine
- Personnel at height
- None
- Minimum order
- 4 turbines per campaign
- Activation from order
- ~3 weeks
- Maximum nacelle height
- 100 m
- Aviation permits and liability cover
- Included
- Deliverable
- Before and after photographic evidence, per machine
Frequently asked questions
Is a windmill the same thing as a wind turbine?
Yes. "Windmill" is the everyday name and "wind turbine" the technical term. They refer to the same machine.
How long does it take to clean a windmill?
One working day per machine for the full scope (blades, tower and nacelle), against the four or five days rope access requires.
Do you clean historic or traditional windmills?
No. We work on wind turbines at operating wind farms. Traditional stone and sail windmills are outside our scope.
Tell us about your site and we will send you a quote
Three data points are enough: number of turbines, location and rotor diameter. We come back with a fixed price per machine and scope within two working days.