MODULE:

NTERNATIONAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (S

M2 AF-2022/3) 
55-701896-AF-20223

Project Idea: Self-cleaning Solar Panels

 Group Members

 1      Jerin James (32034434)  Role: Complete Finisher

 2     Ashik Sayed (32019169) Role: Complete Finisher
 3     Phu  Pwint The Khine (32097112) Role: Company Worker
4     Ujah .O. John (31059504)  Role: Shaper           
 5    Murugavel Chezhiyan (32036088) Role: Team Member     
 6    Abubakar Ejaz (32086657) Role: Team Member

Project Idea: Self-cleaning Solar Panels

 Outlines
1. Overview
2. Apparatus set up
3. Project objective
4. Block diagram
5. Materials Used
6. Life Cycle Assessment & MET
7. Pros & Cons
8. Future Scope
9. Conclusion
10.References
 Overview
Self-cleaning solar panel

●  Nowadays world moving towards starting the use of renewable energy mostly solar energy is used to generate
electricity. 
●  Efficiency of solar modules is reduced due to air droppings, dust, debris and other air-borne particles that settle on the
solar PV panel. Due to this dust, the output of solar PV reduces by up to 50% ( Maindad et al. (2020).)
●  cleaning the solar PV module is essential but it requires manpower, time, water and it can be dangerous carrying the
cleaning process on these solar panels due to the different heights. 
● we are designing automatic solar panel cleaning system. This system is used on regular basis at defined time. This
system is designed by using ATMEGA 16A microcontroller, GSM Module, DC gear motor, sensor like LDR limit switch
and pump systems. 
● This system is designed to increase in solar panel efficiency and avoid maintenance.
● Also, we are recycling the water again to clean the solar panel.
● The energy from the solar panel is used for this, no other external sources are used.
Apparatus set up
Consist of  3 parts

 Sensing part
      SENSOR; GP2Y1010AUOF
       Power consumption; 20mA, 7 V dc from solar panel
      Sensor work along with IR emitting diode and phototransistor arranged diagonally   will detect
the dust particle using the reflection from dust.
 Arduino Uno
       Microcontroller that measures the PV panel output in real time and process the effect of
accumulated dust effects on output power.
 Wiper system
       wiper system consists of a water sprayer and an electric DC control that uses D.C to D.C
step down converter to supply electricity from solar panels.
      The power generated from the solar panel will activate the automatic wiper system when
there is the accumulation of fine particles on the surface of the solar panel 
 Storage Tank: This is where water for the cleaning process will be stored and
recollected.

 Wiper System: wiper system consists of a water sprayer and brushes which will
carry out the cleaning process when activated.

 Pump: Pump is used to supply water required for cleaning. Capacity of pump is
12V and 5 Amps
 Battery: Sealed lead acid battery with voltage of 12v and nominal capacity of 7Amp is
used for the energy storing purpose, which will store energy.

 Solar Panel: Solar panel of 20watts 12volts,1.4amps. Photovoltaic solar panels absorb
sunlight as a source of energy to generate electricity. It also has a hydrophobic film
coating.

 DC Motors: The motor is used to drive cleaning unit (Wiper system) in a rail along the
solar panel 12V 1.2 Amps DC motor
 Frame: This is made of Aluminium material. The whole parts are mounted on
this frame structure with an appropriate arrangement.

 Gear drive system: This will enable the wiper system to move from side to
side of the frame.

 Strainer: Water strainers purify, filter, and separate solids and larger particles
from liquid streams and flow lines. In order to conserve water, which will be
used for the next process, the water strainer is used.
Source; N. F. Zainuddin, M. N. Mohammed, S. Al-Zubaidi and S. I. Khogali,
"Design and Development of Smart Self-Cleaning Solar Panel System," 2019 IEEE
International Conference on Automatic Control and Intelligent Systems (I2CACIS),
Selangor, Malaysia, 2019, pp. 40-43, doi: 10.1109/I2CACIS.2019.8825056.
Project Objectives

“What our idea will accomplish”

1. To increase the overall efficiency of solar panels by

implementing/designing a self-automated cleaning system.

2. To save time by avoiding manual work.

3. To avoid dust, air droppings associated problem on solar

panel system.
Life Cycle Assessment Diagram

DC current

Hydrophobic film Solar Energy

Water & Strainer Self-cleaning Solar Panels Clean Water

Wiper & Railsystem Clean Solar Panel

Waste Dust Waste from

water strainer
 MET Matrix
Use of Materials Use of Energy Toxicity/ Waste emissions

Product - Crystalline silicon - Energy used to refine raw materials - Toxic waste generated by extraction and
refinement of materials prior to production
- Hydrophobic chemical component - Energy consumption for the process
(incl. pre-production)
- Aluminum channel of assembling and production of - Dust and pollution from factories in
Self-cleaning hydrophobic-coated Solar components production
- Steel frame and strainer
Panel
- Rubber wheels and wiper

- DC motor, Pump, Lead-acid Battery

- Plastics

- Arduino board

Distribution -Materials used for packagings such as boxes and Energy used in packaging and -Combustion gases emitted from
plastics transportation processes transportation
-Remainders of material from packaging (i.e.
-Fuels used for shipping plastics)

Use (Operation) Consumables Energy consumption during operation Wastes from consumables, spare parts

Use ( Servicing) Checking and changing new water strainer, tank Energy consumption during Waste from used materials if need repair
and wiper maintenance

Disposal (End-of-Life) - Recovery & _ Energy for recycling, transportation - Waste materials after recycling
Disposal and waste management
- Emission from waste combustion

- Materials which cannot be recycled

Advantages

● Cost of production is low.

● Manual assistance is not required.
● Reduces threat to human life. 
● No need to purchase heavy machinery.
● It is easy to construct, low cost and low maintenance. 
● Working principle is quiet easy. 
 Disadvantages

● Rolling brush which consists of electrostatic cloth would need to be change.

● System is not powered by photovoltaic cells instead it consumes electric power for its
necessary actions which lead to additional cost for power. 

● Ineffective for sticky dust and cannot clean the dust at the corners. 
Future Scope

● There is a lot of room to change this project in a variety of ways, such as improving
operation by using a surface hoover cleaner and a water spray.
● This can be altered by sensors.
● In this project, power supplies were employed to provide the electric supply. This might be
changed by employing solar panels instead.
● Wherever maximum cleaning life is required, silicon brushes can be utilised.
● In order to do the essential cleaning tasks, it can also be managed by remote controllers.
● Even though our project went exactly as planned and operated well, there are still
improvements that might be made to increase its cleaning effectiveness.
Conclusion

● Our technology can be fitted for solar panels on roofs.

● Although the brush did a fantastic job of cleaning, it was unable to remove the sticky dust.

● With a firm brush, the sticky dust must be removed.

● The system accomplished the desired design and operated quite well.

● Since we are aware that prevention is preferable to cure, the cleaning process stops the

solar panel's surface dust from initially building before it becomes too sticky to remove.
References and material data

o Maindad, N., Gadhave, A., Satpute, S., & Nanda, B. (2020). Automatic Solar Panel Cleaning System.
International Conference on Communication and Information Processing (ICCIP-2020).

o Abhishek Naik, N. N. (2019). Automatic Solar Panel Cleaning System. International Research
Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), Volume: 06 Issue: 04.

o Mazumder, M. K., Sharma, R., & Zhang, J. (2007). Self-Cleaning Transparent Dust Shields for
Protecting Solar Panels and Other Devices. Maindad, N., Gadhave, A., Satpute, S., & Nanda, B.
(2020). Automatic Solar Panel Cleaning System. International Conference on Communication and
Information Processing (ICCIP-2020).
Thank you!