Design and Development of Solar Panel Cleaning Robot with an On-Demand Wet Cleaning System

Solar energy is a prominent source of non-conventional energy across the globe, and solar energy harvesting is a vital need today. Both domestic and industrial sectors adopt solar panels, also called photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate solar power as a part of green initiatives. The performance of the solar panels depends on the amount of radiant energy that reaches the PV cells. Several factors influence achieving optimal performance. “Soiling,” commonly caused by dewdrops, dust, humid weather, bird dropping and rain, is one such critical factor which causes large drops in solar panel efficiency and power production. It is. Hence, there is a need to clean solar panels regularly. The rise in large solar panel facilities across remote dry areas that experience high temperatures implies a need for frequent cleaning. At present, a labor-intensive and monotonous cleaning process is deployed, resulting in operations that yield low efficiency. The robotic cleaning system can help address these challenges. With their cleaning heads, robotic cleaning systems can navigate entire solar panel arrays and provide a thorough cleaning while using resources efficiently. This paper discusses the design and development of a solar panel robot with its autonomous features.