Enhancing the efficiency of rooftop solar photovoltaic panel with simple cleaning mechanism

Abstract

In today’s world, use of renewable energy source is increased to decrease the usage of coal and water for generating electricity. One of the methods is, using solar energy for generating electricity. The efficient use of solar energy is an essential path which can deal with electricity crises. Even it has some problems, like aggregation of dirt and dust on the surface of the solar PV panel decreases the quantity of sunlight to penetrate and reach the solar cells, thereby shrinking the efficiency of PV panel. There are various techniques like manual cleaning, vacuum cleaning, electrostatic precipitator cleaning etc. With this cleaning mechanism, there can be an increase in the efficiency of the panel to about 15–20%. But each of the techniques has some disadvantages associated with it. Manual cleaning requires more manpower and there are some possibilities for damages to the Photovoltaic Panel on continuous usage of water or fluid. Vacuum cleaning mechanism results in scratches on the panel. So, we are using Automatic wiper cleaning using Arduino for cleaning the panel. In this paper we aim to reduce those disadvantages and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of solar PV panel.