Automatic Dust Cleaning System with Wiper and Sprinkler for Solar Panel

The efficiency of converting solar energy into electrical energy on solar panels can be reduced when dust accumulates on the surface of solar panels. Therefore, a system is needed to clean solar panels, especially those installed on the roofs that are difficult to reach. In this study, an automatic solar panel cleaner was successfully designed and manufactured such clean a row of solar panels using the solar panel frame as a track. An automatic solar panel cleaning prototype was tested using incense ash on a solar panel with a power of 100 Wp to dirty the solar panels. The power of the solar panels under dirty conditions and under conditions after the solar panels were cleaned were compared. A study that analyzed the differences in cleaning systems using wiper and sprinkler, wiper without sprinkler, sprinkler without wiper, and only running water showed that by utilizing wiper along with sprinkler, the prototype succeeded in cleaning from a condition of 1% clean area to 97.9%. Furthermore, the successful cleaning succeeded in increasing the power produced by solar panels from 5.3 W to 11.2 W under conditions of estimated irradiance of 151.6 W/m².