Solar power systems generate cleaner energy & result in more saving. Installing Solar panels is your first step towards a wise investment, but the maintenance of these panels is as crucial as their setup & installation. Leaves, bird-droppings and airborne particles like pollen & dirt can settle on the solar panels and dirty panels can have a huge impact on the electricity production.
The dirt interferes with the amount of direct sunlight received on the panel, which results in lesser electricity generation. Regular cleaning of the panels is recommended to prevent potential power losses. It’s always better to clean the panels before too much dirt accumulates & cannot be removed easily.
Manual cleaning is one way of keeping the panels clean but it has some limitations. If the solar system is mounted too high, there is always a risk of injury to the cleaner. Moreover, regular detergents can be harsh on the panels. For huge setups, one may need to hire a team of cleaners, but training and managing them will be another task. Thus, manual cleaning has some major problem areas. So what should be done?
The answer is automatic cleaning systems for solar panels. In these systems, several spray nozzles are placed over the panels. These nozzles are connected to the watery supply and the cleaning system is controlled by a programmable controller. These systems can be programmed to wash (with specially formulated soaps) or rinse (with water) the panels at a pre-decided frequency. A frequency of 1 week for washing & 1-3 days for rinsing is recommended. The cleaning time can be scheduled such that the electricity-producing daytime is not wasted.
More advanced kind of automatic-cleaning setups have tiny cameras placed over the panel which detect the slighted of dirt & initiate the cleaning process.
Apart from the occasional refilling of the cleaning solution & the scheduled maintenance, hardly any efforts are required after the installation. Thus, automatic cleaning systems offer efficient cleaning with minimal maintenance efforts, which results in an increased production.
