August 24, 2010 9:12 AM PDT
by Martin LaMonica
Cleaning an array of thousands of solar panels could be done with a mini shock wave, rather than manually washing each one, according to a researcher.
Boston University professor Malay Mazumder on Monday offered details about a material that can be used to enable automatic cleaning of solar photovoltaic panels, in a presentation at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.
Some of the thousands of solar panels at the Nellis Air Force base in Nevada.
(Credit: SunPower)
Keeping solar panels clean is serious concern, particularly for large-scale solar PV farms in dusty desert areas. The build-up of dust and particulate air pollutants blocks the sun and can significantly decrease the output of solar panels.
Right now, solar farm operators clean panels with water, which is a scarce resource in sunny desert areas. Mazumder proposed an electrically sensitive coating that would be placed on the glass of PV panels or a plastic sheet. Sensors that monitor dust concentrations would send an electrical charge through the material, causing a wave to ripple across the surfaces of the panels and send dust to the edges.
Mazumder said the process, which was originally developed for moon and Mars missions, would remove 90 percent of accumulated dust in two minutes.
"A dust layer of one-seventh of an ounce per square yard decreases solar power conversion by 40 percent," he said in a statement, adding that the technique could be used in commercial or residential systems.
The growth of solar power creates a need for cleaning services and methods, particularly for large-scale installations where investors expect a certain output. For the high-tech coating and sensor system to be used by commercial energy project developers, it cannot add significantly to the maintenance costs associated with panel cleaning.
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication InfoWorld. E-mail Martin.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register) (5 Comments) prev next by Get_Bent August 24, 2010 10:06 AM PDT
"Right now, solar farm operators clean panels with water, which is a scarce resource in sunny desert areas."
Is there something wrong with using compressed air to do the job? Start at the upwind side of the solar farm and work your way downwind to prevent blowing dust back on the clean panels.
Like this Reply to this comment by Remijdio August 24, 2010 1:40 PM PDT
I could sure use this on my solar panels! Climbing up on my mansion and hosing them off is getting ridiculous!
Like this Reply to this comment by Joe Real August 24, 2010 2:54 PM PDT
Meanwhile, you can use a longer stick that can be mounted with cleaning, brushing or wiping module at the end. Some of the nifty contraptions have wheels so they are not hard to lift.
Like this by imgx64 August 25, 2010 12:58 AM PDT
Am I the only one who would love to be able to clean their car with this technology?
Like this Reply to this comment by solitare_pax August 25, 2010 5:25 AM PDT
I was about to note that.
I imagine it might be modified to assist with deicing aiplane wings on the ground as well, instead of using gallons of deicing fluid.
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20014540-54.html?tag=mncol;mlt_related#ixzz105Wnc35U
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