A Comparative Study of Dust Cleaning Methods for the Solar PV Panels

The present energy consumption scenario is clearly showing the faster depletion of fossil fuel reserves. On the other hand, energy usage index indicates the state of growth of a country. The use of renewable energy sources like solar PV, wind and such alternatives has increased in the recent years. Considerable loss in conversion efficiency of solar PV system has been noticed due to non-availability of proper insolation and accumulation of dust particles on the panels or shading. A comparative study of various cleaning methods of solar panels has been done in this article with emphasis on the innovative idea of separation of dust by electrostatic precipitator (ESP). Electrostatic precipitators uses static electricity to remove the dust from the panel by applying energy only to the particular matter being collected and therefore is very efficient in its applications unlike conventional cleaning. This increases the solar panels insolation absorption ability. The weight sensor continuously monitor the weight of the dust on the panel and Arduino controller gives the command to clean the dust when defined feedback is received from the sensors. Electrostatic precipitators work by ionizing the dust on the surface area of the solar panel and forcing dirt particles towards the electrodes which are like electrical terminals. The first electrode is charged to a very high negative voltage and other to the positive. The positively charged electrode collects the dust particles. The particles attached to the positively charged plates are expelled or removed periodically to keep the panel dust free either manually or automatically.