Solar Panel Cleaning System

Abstract

The goal of Project SPACE is to create an automated solar panel cleaner that will address the adverse impact of soiling on commercial photovoltaic cells. Specifically, we hoped to create a device that increases the maximum power output of a soiled panel by 10% (recovering the amount of power lost) while still costing under $500 and operating for up to 7.0 years. A successful design should operate without the use of water. This will help solar panel arrays achieve a production output closer to their maximum potential and save companies on costs associated energy generation. The current apparatus utilizes a brush cleaning system that cleans on set cleaning cycles. The device uses the combination of a gear train (with 48 pitch Delin gears) and a 12V DC motor to spin both a 5.00 foot long, 0.25 inch diameter vacuum brush shaft and drive two sets of two wheels. The power source for the drive train is a 12V deep cycle lead-acid battery. Our light weight design eliminates water usage during cleaning and reduces the potential dangers stemming from manual labor. Our design’s retail price was estimated to be around $700 with a payback period of less than 3.5 years. To date, we have created a device that improves the efficiency of soiled solar panels by 3.5% after two runs over the solar panel. We hope that our final design will continue .

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

There is more than enough solar radiation available around the world to satisfy the demand for solar power systems. The proportion of the sun’s rays that reach the earth’s surface is enough to provide for global energy consumption 10,000 times over. On average, each square meter of land is exposed to enough sunlight to produce 1,700 kWh of power every year. Solar Panel has a huge effect on our world.

It can helps our environment to be better without using other power generation plants that can harm the environment, but solar power plant needs to be cleaned at least every 3 days. It generally depends on the country for example in the Middle East, it needs to be cleaned every day so it will cost so much.

There are a lot of techniques for cleaning the solar panels; our idea is to design a smart solar panel that cleans itself automatically and remotely in order to maintain a high level of efficiency of the solar panel.

II. NEED OF PROJECT

A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. The electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct current (DC) electricity, which can be used to power various devices or be stored in batteries. Solar panels are also known as solar cell panels, solar electric panels, or PV modules.

Solar panels are usually arranged in groups called arrays or systems. A photovoltaic system consists of one or more solar panels, an inverter that converts DC electricity to alternating current (AC) electricity, and sometimes other components such as controllers, meters, and trackers.

A photovoltaic system can be used to provide electricity for off-grid applications, such as remote homes or cabins, or to feed electricity into the grid and earn credits or payments from the utility company. This is called a grid-connected photovoltaic system. Some advantages of solar panels are that they use a renewable and clean source of energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lower electricity bills.

Some disadvantages are that they depend on the availability and intensity of sunlight, require cleaning, and have high initial costs. Solar panels are widely used for residential, commercial, and industrial purposes, as well as for space and transportation applications.

IV. ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We acknownledge the immense potrntial of the Solar Panel Cleaning System to Adarsh Instituete of Technology And Research Center. In this transformative research journey we heartfelt gratitude extend to our guide Mr. B. D. Shelake sir for their support.

Conclusion

The Solar Panel Cleaning System project aimed to bring a better solution for maintaining solar efficiency. The main scope was to develop a machine that can clean a solar panel by a proper control system. This project is a developed prototype to expand on a new and increasing market. The project team hit many obstacles along the way. Designing the control system required learning Raspberry Pi configurations, python coding and its interference with the electrical components. Using soldering boards to implement the designed circuit, hardware wiring, relays and machinery were new experiences. This being said, the project fulfilled the desired design with the planned control and mechanism. The DC motors were controlled by both relays and drivers to accomplish speed and directions control. Also, control code for the DC motors and the water pump were written then implemented in the system. Finally, the MPPT charge controller was connected to the off grid system. However, the prototype was not completed because of the challenges and the limitations that were mentioned .

References

[1] Shajan K. Thomas, Shelvin Joseph, Sarrop T S, and Sahad Bin Haris, \"Solar Panel Automated Cleaning (SPAC) System,\" in 2018 International Conference on Emerging Trends and Innovations In Engineering And Technological Research (ICETIETR), 2018. [2] Surajit Mondal, Amit Kumar Mondal , Abhishek Sharma, and Vindhya Devalla, \"An overview of cleaning and prevention processes for enhancing efficiency of solar photovoltaic panels,\" Current Science, vol. 115, no. 6, pp. 1065-1077, September 2018. [3] Marcel Grando, Elias Renã Maletz, Daniel Martins, and Henrique Simas, \"Robots for Celaning Photo Voltaic Panels: State of the Art and Future Prospects,\" in IX JORNADAS ARGENTINAS DE ROBÓTICA, Cordoba, Argentina, 2017, pp. 29-34.

Copyright

Copyright © 2024 Arpita Wagh, Utkarsh Wakshe, Dipali Padalkar, Birudev Shelake, Sumita Mulik. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.