Cleaning of Solar Panel using Automation Technique.

Abstract

Solar energy is considered to be one of the best major renewable energy resources to generate and meet the electrical energy demand of the entire globe. Solar PV modules produce electricity by collecting the sunlight. solar PV modules are generally employed in dusty environmental areas like in India, which comes under the tropical region. Various dust particles present in the tropical region, so the dust particles are accumulated on the surface of the solar panel. Therefore, the incident light can be blocked. As a result, the module power capacity can be reduced. If the panel not cleaned properly the power output become reduced by 50%. To increase the power output an automatic cleaning mechanism has been designed. This automatic cleaning mechanism not only senses the dust accumulated on the solar panel but also clean the solar PV module automatically. This solar cleaning mechanism is mainly implemented using PIC 16F 1527 microcontroller, which mainly controls the stepper motor, Air compressor and water pump. The dust can be cleaned by the gantry which is mainly driven by the stepper motor. The gantry has mist nozzles which create pressurized air and water to clean the solar panel effectively. The cleaning can be done by air and water depending upon the dust accumulated on the solar panel.

    Index Terms: solar panel; micro-controller; stepper motor; dust particles.