Research published in the International Journal of Power and Energy Conversion outlines a mechanism for maximizing the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels to generate electricity. An automatic and portable cleaning system, adaptable to different panel sizes, is intended to reduce efficiency by up to 40% due to the accumulation of dust on solar photovoltaic modules. Accumulation of dust and dirt is always a serious problem that affects the performance of photovoltaic systems.
Fulton Carlos Retegui-Ordonez, Fernando Paredes Marchena, Juan Eduardo Retegui-Ordonez, Hugo Guillermo and Jimenez Pacheco of the Universidad Católica de Santa Maria in San José, Peru studied the effects of climate change on photovoltaics. They found that when there is high sunlight, the accumulation of dust significantly reduced the efficiency of the panels by more than 11 percent.
A panel's fill factor (FF), a critical indicator of efficiency, decreases significantly when the panel is dusty or otherwise dirty. Of course, dust accumulation depends on the environment, so an automatic cleaning system will make more sense in some regions than others.
Cleaning by hand or relying on natural weathering are not good solutions. That's why the team developed an automatic cleaning system that can continuously return a panel to its pre-set state, maximizing efficiency. The system will be relatively easy to install and will remove dust without scratching the panel using a computer monitor and microfiber cloth for cleaning.
More information: Fulton, Carlos Reategui Ordonez et al., Automated and Portable Cleaning System for Photovoltaic Solar Panels, International Journal of Power and Energy Transformation (2023). DOI: 10.1504/IJPEC.2023.133629
Citation: Scientists develop automatic, portable cleaning system for solar panels (September 27, 2023) Retrieved October 1, 2023, from https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-scientists-automatic-portable-solar-panels.html. .
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