cleans them autonomously and without water

Renewable energies continue to advance in Spain unstoppably. In 2023, several historical milestones were surpassed, according to Red Eléctrica Española: a 28% increase in photovoltaic solar energy with 5,594 MW installed and a total generation, including wind, that exceeded 50% of electricity production at the national level. It is a determined commitment to combat climate change, but this contribution can be even greater if new solar panel cleaning systems begin to be implemented that allow even greater energy production.

One of the worst enemies of solar panels, in addition to birds and their droppings, is the accumulation of dust and other particles, which directly affect the a notable loss in efficiency, between 0.5% and 63% according to experiments carried out by scientists in recent years. The most worrying figures occur in countries with little rainfall, such as Spain, which forces owners to clean them regularly or hire professionals to do it in places that are difficult to access and with associated occupational risks such as the roofs of houses.

In the search for automated solutions, one of the strongest proposals is that of the Australian company Solar Energy Robotics, which has been developing a revolutionary cleaning system called ASCR (autonomous solar cleaning robots) for years. With a first version presented in 2018, it integrates a series of sensors and brushes that allow dirt to be completely removed from the solar panels. without the need for water and without wasting energy, offering an improvement in production of up to 40%.

The ASCR robot

As multiple studies point out, the optimal performance of photovoltaic panels largely depends on them being clean so that they can receive solar radiation on their entire surface. Dust is one of your biggest enemies and, until now, most cleaning methods involved the use of water, which implies an added expense to the maintenance of the installation.

For this reason, engineers from the Australian company Innovative Energy, on which Solar Energy Robotics depends, designed a technological solution that, as they explain on their website, “combines advanced cleaning tools, robotics, sensors and analytical software“. The ultimate goal is to develop “a reliable and sustainable product that optimizes the efficiency of solar photovoltaic installations.”

Its design focused on meeting the needs of the mining industry, which in Australia is usually located in remote locations with abundant sand and dust particles. In these farms, isolated from the electrical grid, Communication systems mostly depend on photovoltaic installationswhich require very frequent maintenance given the conditions of such an arid and hostile environment.

In regions such as the Pilbara in Western Australia, the constant accumulation of dust on the plates It is due to its proximity to the mine haul roads. This significantly reduces its reliability and efficiency, which results in a dependency on diesel generators and, ultimately, in failures in the communication systems and losses for the mining company.

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The ASCR robot, which has been operating in the Pilbara since 2018, continues to be updated to improve its mechanical dry brushing method. For this use nylon bristles, soft but effectivewhile the company is looking for new materials and adapting the speed to improve its performance and eliminate dust adhered to the surface of the plates.

Working with engineering teams at Curtin University Innovation Central Perth, Solar Energy Robotics is seeking integrate new sensors and improve their processing with on-board artificial intelligence to inspect panels and analyze dirt data while performing cleaning tasks. All of this without a water supply and with its own solar cells so as not to waste a single bit of energy.

This autonomous cleaning system allows you to schedule preventive maintenancecapable of improving energy production and reducing “panel degradation caused by dirt, including abrasion, oxidation, partial shading and corrosion.”

Goodbye to manual cleaning

This automated solution is not intended to replace workers, but rather to improve their conditions so that they can dedicate your time to less repetitive tasks that do not involve health risks. Manual cleaning of the panels, whether in a macro photovoltaic farm or on the roof of houses, involves a series of dangers and body tension that can lead to injuries.

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Besides, manual cleaning methods can damage solar panels by abrading the anti-reflective coatings by applying water to its hot surface or generating cracks in the glass panels, which are very difficult to repair.

In the case of the Pilbara mine, where Temperatures above 45 ºC frequently occurbefore the implementation of the ASCR, the panels needed cleaning with water every 4 or 6 weeks, a period that was much shorter in those located near the extraction area and adjacent transport roads.

“In some places, the panels were completely covered after 2 or 3 days without cleaning. You could return in the afternoon and there would be a layer of dust from the trucks,” says one of those responsible for the operation.

These constant interruptions in power generation until a new cleaning meant a reduction in production and storage of connected batteries of up to 40% per monthsomething that the Solar Energy Robotics robot has managed to completely reverse.

These autonomous cleaning devices are completely adapted to environments as harsh as the mine, and work independently thanks to “a self-charging battery and a remote communication system “which ensures that there is no possibility of causing a failure in the site’s communication system.”

In addition, they can be configured with different settings remotely, to select, for example, when and how often to clean the panels, in this case, several times a day. According to the company’s data, its solution seems reliable and durable, since In just two years it has carried out more than 32,000 cleanings without major problem.

According to the information provided by Solar Energy Robotics, the cost savings for the mining company are estimated at a 59% reduction in cleaning costs, a 38% increase in energy generation and 12% less time charging the batteries.

In the future, this proven solution can diversify and also reach private photovoltaic panel installationswhich would make it possible to forget about accumulated dirt and guarantee maximum energy production also in residential environments.