SOLAR PANEL CLEANING SYSTEM

A Project Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the award of degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
By
B MADHU SUDHAN REDDY (19001A0314)
P MAHESH BABU (19001A0329)
L MANISH NITHIN REDDY (19001A0345)
GUNA SAI KEERTHY (19001A0360)
M SURESH (20001A0307)

Under the Guidance of

Dr.D.R. SRINIVASAN
Assistant Professor & O.A.S.
JAWHARALAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY ANATAPUR
COLLGE OG ENGINERRING (AUTONOMOUS)
ANANTHAPURAMU

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY ANANTAPUR
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING (AUTONOMOUS)
ANANTAPURAMU-515002, A.P., 2023
 JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY ANANTAPUR
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING (AUTONOMOUS)
ANANTHAPURAMU-515002, A.P.,
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitles “ SOLAR PANEL CLEANING SYSTEM”
Being submitted by

B MADHU SUDHAN REDDY (19001A0314)

P MAHESH BABU (19001A0329)
L MANISH NITHIN REDDY (19001A0345)
GUNA SAI KEERTHY (19001A0360)
M SURESH (20001A0307)
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Bachelor of
Technology in Mechanical Engineering to JNTUACEA, Anantapur. This is a bonafide
work carried out by them under my guidance and supervision. The results embodied in this
report have not been submitted to any other University or Institution for the award of any
degree.

ANANTAPUR.

Signature of the project guide

Signature of Head of the Department
Dr.D.R. SRINIVASAN
DR. K. KALYANI RADHA
Assistant Professor,
HOD of Mechanical Engineering Dept,
JNTUACEA (Autonomous),
JNTUACEA(Autonomous),
ANANTAPUR.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany successful completion of any task would be incomplete
without the mention of people who made it possible. As there is guidance and encouragement crowned
our efforts with success. It is a pleasant aspect that we have now the opportunity to express my
gratitude for all of them.

The first person we would like to thank is my guide Dr.D.R.SRINIVASAN, Professor of

Mechanical Engineering Department, JNTUACEA Ananthapuramu. His wide knowledge and logical
way of thinking have made a deep impression on us. His understanding, thinking and personal
guidance have provided the basis for the project. He is a source of inspiration for innovative ideas and
his kind support is well known to all his students and colleagues.

As we are grateful to Dr. K. KALYANI RADHA Professor and Head of Mechanical engineering
Department, JNTUACEA Ananthapuramu, for her indispensable encouragement and cooperation to
complete the project.

Last but not the least, we wish to acknowledge our family and friends and thanks to one and all, who
helped us for the successful completion of the project.

With Gratitude
B MADHU SUDHAN REDDY (19001A0314)
P MAHESH BABU (19005A0329)
L MANISH NITHIN REDDY (19001A0345)
GUNA SAI KEERTHY (19001A0360)
M SURESH (20001A0307)

i
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT....................................................................................................
LIST OF TABLES..............................................................................................................
ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................................
LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................
1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................
2. LITERATURE SURVEY...............................................................................................
3. DESIGN PHASE...........................................................................................................11
4 . FABRICATION AND ASSEMBLY PHASE............................................................18
5. PROTOTYPE PHASE..................................................................................................26
6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION...................................................................................27
7. COST ANALYSIS........................................................................................................28
8. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................29
9. REFERENCES..............................................................................................................30

ii
LIST OF TABLES

S.NO NAME OF TABLE PAGE NO

1.1 PARTICLE SIZE VARIATION IN AIR 3
3.1 SOLAR PANEL TECHNICAL DETAILS 15
4.1 S.P.C.S LEVEL 0 INPUT & OUTPUT 22
4.2 S.P.C.S LEVEL 1 INPUT & OUTPUT 24
7.1 COST ANALYSYS 32

ABBREVIATIONS

1 S.P.C.S SOLAR PANEL CLEANING SYSTEM

2 P.V PHOTOVOLTIC
3 A.G.V AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE
4 A.M.R AUTOMATIC MOVING ROBOTS
5 P.E.T POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE
6 I.T.O INDIUM TIN OXIDE

iii
 LIST OF FIGURES

1.1 DIFFERENT SOLAR FARMS IN INDIA 2

1.2 VARIATION OF PARTICLE SIZE 4
1.3 AEOLIAN FLOW OF DUST 5
2.1 HYDROPHOBIC FILMS 7
2.2 SIX AXIS ROBOT 8
2.3 WIPER WITH SLIDER CRANK MECHANISM 9
2.4 LOCOMOTIVE UNIT 10
2.5 AUTONOMOUS MOBILE ROBOTS 11
2.6 TRANSPARENT ELECTRODYNAMIC SCREENS 12
2.7 SOLAR BRUSH UAV PANNEL 13
3.1 PANEL FRONT AND BACK 16
3.2 WATER PUMP 17
3.3 SMART SWITCH INSIDE COMPONENTS 18
3.4 SMART SWITCH 19
3.5 WATER PIPE 19
3.7 SPRINKLER 21
4.1 S.P.C.S BLOCK DIAGRAM LEVEL 0 22
4.2 S.P.C.S BLOCK DIAGRAM LEVEL 1 23
4.3 SMART PLUG CONNECTION 26
4.4 TIMER SETTINGS 26
4.5 PUMP CONNECTION 27
4.6 PIPE CONNECTION 27
4.7 CLAMPING TO SOLAR PANEL 28
4.8 CONVERTOR 28
6.1 RESULTS BEFOR AND AFTER CLEANING 31

iv
 ABSTRACT

The Solar power generation is expected to reach 10 percent of global power generation by
the year 2030, and most of that is likely to be located in desert areas, where sunlight is
abundant. But the accumulation of dust on solar panels or mirrors is already a significant
issue, it can reduce the output of photovoltaic panels by as much as 30 percent in just one
month, so regular cleaning is essential for such installations.

Manually cleaning the solar panels is a good way but it takes lot of time for large
installations. Robots, waterless vibration or special coating solutions are innovative and
efficient, however, there are many situations where these kind of solutions can be quite
expensive and inefficient for small installations, residential or commercial scale, as well
as special structures and installations such as agrivoltaics.

The objective of this project is to design and fabricate a system to clean or remove dust
particles accumulated on solar panel using water, efficiently. The water pump is operated
by using along with timer which can also be operated manually with our mobile phone
(from anywhere) so that lot of maintanence is not required in this way

v
 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background:

The current energy systems depend heavily on the declining stock of fossil fuels
(coal, oil and natural gas), leaving about 2.7 billion people in the world without
access to adequate electricity, and is, therefore not sustainable economically,
socially and environmentally. Moreover, the highly carbon-intensive state of the
energy sector throughout the developing countries is susceptible to large swings
in oil prices and also cost billions in subsidies. Greening the energy sector aims
at a renewable and sustainable energy generation system.

Renewable energy technologies is the only option to address the current

concerns regarding energy security, the environment and global climate change.
Solar electricity, also known as photovoltaics (PV), has shown since 1970s that
the substantial portion of the world electricity demand can be met without
burning fossil fuels or creating nuclear fission reactions.

Photovoltaic is the direct conversion of light (photons) into electricity (voltage)

using semiconductor materials. All inorganic PV cells have two layers of
semiconductors, one n-type and another p-type. When light shines on the
semiconductor, the electric field across the junction between these two layers
causes electricity to ow, generating DC (direct current). Photovoltaic cells are
the major constituent of a photovoltaic module.

1.2 Market Survey:

The surge across the globe in solar energy and other renewable energy has been
greatly as a response to the increasing carbon emissions and global warming
which poses a huge threat for the sustainability of the world. An ambitious
target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 by the

Government of India. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Solar

Cities said 60 solar cities would be developed by 2022.

1
 The initial phase of the project was to collect different Voice Of Customer
(VOC) from different solar street lamp manufacturing companies. When asked
about the challenges faced in solar street lamps , they pointed out cleaning as
the major issues. The Voice of Customer are as follows:

• “Cleaning of the solar panel is required every 15-20 days, Due to the
dust accumulation on the solar street lamps malfunctioning of the light
source is highly possible, Cleaning solution or Automation is much
required.” - Dev Solar, Coimbatore

• “Cleaning of solar street lamps aren’t even done in India we just wait for
the rain to clean the panel. Which results in the shutting of the Lamp in the
middle of the night when its actually required.”

- K’Lite , Chennai

Figure 1.1 : Different solar farms in India

2
As discussed earlier solar energy has got a huge potential in the coming future.
As shown in Figure 1.1 there are several states which consumes more than
50MW of solar energy. The global use of solar energy grew in the last year
growing around 50%. There are a few challenges associated with the solar
energy production. One of the most crucial problems being the reason for
declining efficiency of the solar panel is the soiling or the dust accumulation on
the panels. This process is known as soiling where dust and sand particles from
the atmosphere gets deposited on the solar panels due to natural phenomenon
such as the wind flow.

This deposition of foreign particles on the panel hinders the amount of light that
is passing through the solar panel glass and hence alleviating the total power
output of the solar panel. Soiling losses on the PV modules is usually
considered to be a trivial problem which is actually of serious concern in certain
geographical areas such as the deserts and arid areas there the sand particles are
easily carried by the wind. Hence a viable and an effective solution should be
developed to address this problem. The further chapters will be explaining about
the solutions that we have come up with to solve this problem.

1.3 Soiling on Photovoltaic module:

Particles sizes vary in different geographical regions. And this has a great
influence on the extent of soiling on the solar panels. As shown in figure 1.2 ,
the particles sizes are approximately less than 20 microns in North America ,
10-50 microns in the middle east countries and 50-60 micron in Asian countries.
The particle sizes in the middle Eastern countries is usually greater than those
found in other regions as these places are mostly deserts. Similarly the particle
sizes vary in semi arid regions also.

3
 Table 1.1 Particle size variation in air

Figure 1.2: Variation of particle size across the globe

1.3.1 Process of Soiling:

The soiling process involves the following steps:

1. Dust Transportation

2. Initial Adhesion

3. Changes in initial adhesion mechanism

4. Alteration on the surface

5. Restorative methods

4
1.3.1.1 Dust Transportation:

The dust flow is greatly influenced by the wind and this process of dust flow by
wind is known as Aeolian process. The wind in that geographical location
affects the flow of dust. Apart from that the particle size of the dust also has an
effect on the flow. As shown in figure 1.3 , the particles of larger size travel
along the surface while the once with smaller sizes have a larger trajectory.

Figure 1.3: Aeolian Flow of Dust

1.3.1.2 Initial Deposition:

The dust adhesion on to the surface is affected by several factors such as the
friction coefficient between the particle and the surface , the size of the
particle ,roughness of the surface and electrical properties. Particles of larger
size are influenced by gravitational forces , while particles of smaller size are
influenced by the vander walls force or the forces that bind smaller particles
together. The smaller particles are also influenced by the electrical properties of
the surface as they can get polarized which will cause adhesion to the surface.

1.3.1.3 Other external factors:

Rain and manual water cleaning are the most common ways of cleaning. Rain
can sometimes complicate the adhesion process as it can cause dust particles to
stick together due to moisture and also it can attract other foreign particles to the
existing ones and make the deposition even tougher.

5
1.3.2 Factors Affecting Soiling on PV modules:

In order to get maximum power output, PV modules are kept in open shade free
areas such as rooftops and plain grounds. Since inaccessible areas are where
they are placed, it greatly lowers the process of cleaning. The characteristics
contributing to the soiling loss are as follows :

• Orientation : The orientation of solar panels differ in different

hemispheres. In order to get maximum power output , the solar panles in
the northern hemisphere should be towards south and those in southern
hemisphere should be towards the north.
• PV technology : Different PV technologies have different spectral
transmittance curves for their transmittance responses. Accordingly they
give varying power output.

6
 2. LITERATURE SURVEY

Many research studied the effect of dust and other impurities on the solar panel and
much experiments have been carried out to clear up this troubles. Under are a few
theories and researches which can be related to this mission. The phenomenon of
converting light directly into electricity was discovered by Henri Becquerek back in
year 1839. Then Albert Einstein explained the principle of photovoltaic in year 1905
using quantum theory. Significant use of PV power systems has started in space
application in the 1905’s and its modest use in global application began in the
1960‟s. However, at the start of 1970‟s and 80 saw a superior and substantial use of
PV power system.

2.1 H. Hottel and B. Woertz,, “Performance of flatplate solar-heat collectors,

"Trans. ASME (Am. Soc. Mech. Eng.); (United States), vol. 64, 1942. [1]:
First studied the effects of dust on solar panel presentation with the aid of analyzing
the dust collecting on such panels. A 3 month test becomes done in a business
location close by a four-tune railroad 90m away from Boston, Massachusetts. They
located a mean of one% loss of occurrence solar radiation changed into caused by
dirt that accumulated on the surface of the sun panel with a slant attitude ofa30°.
The very best dilapidation defined for the duration of the check duration
becomea4.7%. The researchers found out a correction issue, defined as the ratio of
the transference from a polluted or exposed glass plate to clean one, of zero. Ninety
nine, with aa45° slant angle; this value changed into general and hooked up in the
layout of flat plate collectors till 1970. Kimber et al. tested the consequences of
soiling on large grid-linked PV panels in California, USA in 2011. The goal of the
have a look at became to deliver a better model to correctly are expecting soiling
patients all through the 12 months barely than presumptuous a continual annual fee.
Every other objective changed into to illustrate the final results of soiling on PV
arrangement for general area slightly than for a particular area. For that examine, to

7
illustrate soiling losses over the dry season, a linear deterioration version changed
into used. After except for websites with nonlinear conduct of soiling and large
rainfall of the web sites, the information from 250 sites have been accumulated and
later filtered to 46 machine records sets.

2.2 Ali Omar Mohamed, Abdulazez Hasan, “Effect of Dust Accumulation on

Performance of Photovoltaic Solar Modules in Sahara Environment” Journal
of Basic and applied scientific Research, Volume 2, Issue11, Pages 11030-11036
Considered the southern area of Libya which usually carries the dust and sand in the
period from February to May, which is also called as seasonal wind. So the small
particles of the sand, trees, debris and droppings of birds are accumulated on the PV
model surface, which yield a shading sunlight on the modules. Here the area of
study divided as rural desert, where the amount of solar irradiance is large over the
year. Thus it inspires to adopt the clean energy resource on desert region. Hence a
framework of weekly cleaning on PV modules throughout the period involves the
experimental set up and a simultaneous measuring is implemented in maximum
operating voltage and currents on each module for both before and after washing
modules. Weekly water washing is carried out through periods of February to May
in order to evaluate performance of PV panels. So the maximum current and voltage
is measured at the terminal using the digital multi-meter device, before and after
washing in order to gain the maximum power at the operating point generated by
PV module. During study water wash is done once in a week on module without any
automatic cleaning technologies, manually by mixed detergents with water and use
of hand cleaning materials. Furthermore to wash surface module, spry nozzle is
fixed at the top. Approximately each module consumes around 5 liters of water. In
fact it is necessary to maintain an optimum performance in desert region by regular
cleaning of PV module. However accumulated dust causes the impact on output
power and the system efficiency. Hence periodically cleaning, maintained
performance losses between 2 to 2.5%.

2.3 Shaharin A. Sulaiman ``Effects of Dust on the Performance of PV Panels`

International Journal of Mechanical, Aerospace, Industrial, Mechatronics and
Manufacturing Engineering Vol:5, 2011

8
 Dust accumulation from the outside environment on the solar photovoltaic (PV)
panels system is natural. There were studies which showed that the accumulated
dust can minimize the performance of solar panels, but the results were not
evidently quantified. The purpose of this research was to study the dust
accumulation effects and then analyze the performance of solar PV panels.
Experiments were conducted by utilizing dust particles on solar panels with a steady
power light source, to conclude the resulting electrical power generated and
efficiency. The effect of presence of dust was studied using artificial dust (mud and
talcum) under a constant irradiance conducted in an indoor lab. Dust has
consequences on the solar PV panel performance. The decline in the peak power
generation can be equal to 18%. It was also given away that under larger irradiation;
the effect of dust became somewhat minimized but not negligible

2.4 Satish patil, Mallaradhya H M (2016) design and implementation of

microcontroller based automatic dust cleaning system for solar panel.
international journal of engineering research and advanced technology (ijerat)
issn: 2454-6135 special volume. 02 issue.01, may-2016

The aim of this paper is to give an innovative concept to handle energy demand
around the world is increasing rapidly for many applications. Renewable sources of
energy are solar, wind and geothermal which are inexhaustible. Solar energy is
abundant in nature and is proving its existence for many applications like street
lighting, house hold appliances, water heating, agricultural and industrial purpose.
One of the way to harness solar energy is done by using solar panels. Limitation of
solar energy is its efficiency for any application due to the factors like dust,
humidity, temperature etc. Electrical parameters of solar panel are sensitive to
accumulated dust density and will affect the transmittance of the solar panel thereby
reduce its efficiency. In order to overcome this problem, it is necessary to clean the
solar panels regularly

2.5 Kutaiba-Sabah, Sabah Nimma Faraj (2013) SelfCleaning Solar Panels to

Avoid the Effects of Accumulated Dust on Solar Panels Transmittance.
International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN:
2319-7064
In the experiment which is previously done, dust accumulation for the solar panels
being investigated for a long period of time that is approximately for one year. The
experiments have been done in different countries which have climate conditions of
9
the dusty weather. Those countries are Iraq, Egypt and UAE. The solar panels were
never cleaned, initially for one month, and then for two months and so on. The
results were there was a decreasing in the transmittance of the solar panels, which is
emphasize the effect of accumulated dust, even though the changing in the tilt angel
which is in concurrence with the dust deposition on the panels. A well designed auto
cleaning system to clean the solar panels will be added to the panels to keep the
transmittance of the solar planes fixed approximately and to reduce the cost- of
periodic cleaning. Actually, there are many benefits from such a project. First,
economical benefit, where there is no more money will be paid to a cleaning
agency. Second, it is time saving, where there is no time will be spent to clean those
solar panels. Besides that, recurrently cleaning will make sure that the solar panel
works with a good transmittance. Finally, safety and health of workers in sites.
Since robots are capable of working in perilous environments, more dangerous
operations are being handled by robots.

2.6 S. B. Halbhavi, S. G. Kulkarni, Dr. D. B. Kulkarni , “Microcontroller

Based Automatic Cleaning of Solar Panel” International Journal of Latest
Trends in Engineering and Technology (IJLTET)ISSN: 2278-621XVol. 5 Issue
4 July 2015
This paper added an automated cleansing device, which senses the dirt on the sun
panel as a way to easy the dirt frequently. If the panel isn't wiped clean then 50% of
the module performance might be reduced. The 8051 microcontroller is used to
control the tools motor and to implement the automated gadget. The mechanism
consists of a sensor and also consists of the sliding brushes while cleansing the PV
modules. The analysis of the dust can be examined below the different conditions
with the deposition of the unique pollutants like ash, sand, silica, calcium carbonate
and crimson soil. Later retaining the PV model cool and clean, effects are acquired
for effective device presentation. The strength generation in each instances become
experimentally determined. Sooner or later by way of the use of the above said
computerized cleaning scheme the power output can be expanded approximately
30%, as compared to other cleansing technologies. Also recurrent periodic cleansing
guarantees that the panel works with true conduction step by step.

10
 3. DESIGN PHASE

Various components are used in our project final design and their working will
be explained

LIST OF COMPONENTS

1 Solar panel
2 Water pump
3 Smart switch
4 Water pipe
5 180 degree water sprinkler

1 SOLAR PANEL

A mini solar panel of 20-watt for a 12-volt battery that is charged with the help
of sunlight. Being light in weight, this portable solar panel finds many
applications or uses. The panel is specially designed to charge small batteries up
to 10 Ah or 10,000 mAh. Loom Solar is India's premium solar brand that
manufactures and sells solar systems of various capacities including small solar
panels. In the family of solar panels, mini solar panels are defined by their size
(dimensions), which ranges from 0.6 x 2.55 inches to 14 x 18 inches (equivalent
to 1.7 sq ft, i.e., comparable to a regular medium sized home mirror).

This (Do It Yourself ) DIY solar panel can be used for your school science
projects, home lighting system or small battery charging. This finds many
interesting uses for being small and light weight & is easy to carry along. It
weighs around 1.7 kg & comes with a junction box to connect the wires easily,
aluminium frame comes with punched capsule type mounting holes for easy
mounting. Additional strength is given by high durability tempered glass
(3.2mm thickness), that can withstand general impact of cricket ball or hail
storms.

11
 Technical Details
Wattage (Wp) 20
Voltage at Max Power 18.20 volts
Current at Max Power 1.10 amps
Open Circuit Voltage 22.40 volts
Short Circuit Current 1.45 amps
36
No. of cells

Model 20
Watts
Cell Configurations [Nos] 9 x 4 (36)
Series
Parameters Value Tolerance
Pmax [W] 20.00 ±3.0%
Voc [V] 22.50
Isc [A] 1.11
Vmax [V] 19.25
Imax [A] 1.04
Fill Factor [%] 80.08
Module Efficiency [%] 12.70
Maximum System Voltage [VDC] 600
Nominal Operating Cell Temp. {NOCT} 44.0 °C
(°C)
Temp. Coefficient of Pmax [%/°C] -0.43

Table 3.1 – solar panel specifications

12
Panel Frontside Panel Backside

350 mm

Figure 3.1-solar panel

2 WATER PUMP

A submersible pump, also called an electric submersible pump, is a pump that

can be fully submerged in water. The motor is hermetically sealed and
closecoupled to the body of the pump. A submersible pump pushes water to the
surface by converting rotary energy into kinetic energy into pressure energy

13
 SPECIFICATIONS
HEAVY DUTY PUMP
Figure 3.2- water pump

18 Watt Water Pump for Desert Air Cooler is a very powerful and heavy-duty
pump that can be used in a number of ways.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

VOLTAGE: 180V - 230V

POWER: 18W

H.MAX : 1.85 M / 2.80M

OUTPUT: 1100L/h / 3800L/h

14
3 SMART PLUG

The 10 A Wi-Fi Smart Plug is here to make your life Easy and Secure with the
intelligence of convenience. This plug lets you control your appliances through
your smartphone, no matter where you are. It works smoothly with a Wi-Fi
connection of 2.4G and is compatible with Google and Amazon Alexa voice
assistants.

Simply plugin and connect your appliance to your smartphone through OzoLife
App, and you are good to go. The plug does not require additional wiring or
drilling and manages the power supply to avoid burnout.Use it to control
appliances such as fans, television, water pumps, lamps, chandeliers, toasters,
etc. and live life on the go.

Figure 3.3- smart plug inside components

Smart plugs are internet-enabled devices that connect wirelessly to a router or hub.
Models that require hubs rely on these gateway devices to connect to other devices
like smartphones and tablets. These hubs handle all communications and serve as
bridges between routers and smart plugs.

15
 Figure 3.4 –smart features

4 WATER PIPE

In the project ½ inch water pipe is used to carry the water which is flexible
and plastic so that it will be easy to carry any where . For large units of solar
panels
PVC pipes and t joints and clampings are used which are fixed to solar panel

Figure 3.5 - ½ inch water pipe

16
5 180 DEGREE WATER SPRINKLER

Solar Panel Cleaning Sprinkler Nozzles are fitted in 1/2 inches thread tee and it
is made with UV Protected Nylon Material. It sprays 180 Degree Equal Flow Of
Water And Clean Your Solar PV Module Effectively. For Best Performance Of
Nozzle 0.1 Kg/cm2 Pressure Is Required.

Figure 3.7- water sprinkler

17
 4 . FABRICATION AND ASSEMBLY PHASE

This chapter provides insight into the inner workings of the system. It
provides a Level 0 and Level 1 block diagram as well as lists of inputs and
outputs. The Level 0 Block Diagram shown in Figure 3-1 serves as a holistic
overview of the system. Three basic inputs: water, power, and an on/off
control feed into the system, producing only one output: water stream.

Figure 4-1: Solar Panel Cleaning System Level 0 Block Diagram

Module Solar Panel Cleaning System

Water: ≤ 1 gallon per cleaning operation

Power: 20W, 12V DC
Inputs On/Off Control: manual button press or automatic timer

Outputs Water: ≤ 1 gallon per cleaning operation

18
 Take water and clean solar panels. A button or program
controls the system’s operation and on/off periods. The
Functionality output water and input water amount are nearly equivalent.

Table 4-1. Solar Panel Cleaning System Level 0 Inputs and Outputs

The following Level 1 Functional Decomposition depicted in Figure 3-2

breaks the system down into several components. While not all values have
been determined, most of the values were selected based on given inputs or
research. Water from an external source will be stored in a tank. The smart plug,
powered by a solar powered battery will issue an ON command to the Water
Pump. The relay, also powered by the solar powered battery, will then activate
the water pump. Some amount of water will be pumped from an external water
source to a PVC pipe, where the water will be dispensed onto the surface of the
solar panels. Afterward, the water is collected into a unit at the base of the solar
panel, for other uses in the DC house. Table 3-2 lists technical requirements of
the components used in the proposed solar panel cleaning system, and Table 3-3
summarizes each of the engineering specifications with their relevant marketing
requirements and justifications.

19
 Figure 4-2: Solar Panel Cleaning System Level 1 Block Diagram

Module DC-AC Converter (2)

Inputs 12 VDC ; ≤ 5 A

Outputs 130 to 220 VAC

Functionality Steps down/up voltage from battery to microprocessor or water
pump relay

Module Water Pump

Inputs 1-2 Gallons of Water
180 -220 VAC; ≤ 5A

Outputs 1100 liters per hour

Functionality Water pumped from source and to PVC Pipe (or framework of
Solar Panels)

Module Smart plug w/ Timer

20
Inputs
220 VAC; < 10 A

Outputs On Command to the dispenser

Functionality Turns system on/off

Module PVC Pipe/ Water Dispenser

Inputs Water from tank

Outputs Water to solar panels

Functionality Dispenses water from water pump to solar panels

Table 4-3. Solar Panel Cleaning System Requirements and Specifications

Firstly the smart plug is connected to a switch board later by following the
instructions given by the manufacturer the smart plug is connected to the
mobile app and used it. By using the mobile app operate the smart plug
manually or automatically by setting the timer on the app. Create a schedule for
the operation of pump in the app

21
Figure 4.3 – smart plug connection

22
 Figure 4.4 – timer settings

set the timer so that it automatically switch off the pump after using it for
certain time.

connect the pump to the smart plug and immerse the pump into the water .
Make sure that the water is always readily available. Do not operate the pump
when there is no water in the tank

Figur
e 4.5 – pump connection to smart plug

23
Connect the water dispenser for pipe to the pump output and to the other end of
the pipe connect the water sprinkler. use a ½ inch pipe so that it exactly fits to
the motor pump output and it is made up of plastic which is easy to carry . PVC
pipes can also be used for large scale of solar panels

Figure 4.6 – water pipe connection to pump

There are different kinds of water sprinklers like 180 degree water sprinkler on
90 degree water sprinkler any one of those can be used as for the requirements
if the sprinkler is placed at the corner you can use 90 degree sprinkler
Or if the sprinkler is placed at Centre you can use 180 degree sprinkler and fix
the sprinkler that is connected to the pipe to the solar panel using clamps

24
 Figure 4.7 –water pipe to top of solar panel
Connect the solar panel to the DC to AC converter so that the DC current
generated by the Solar Panel is converted into AC current.

connect the output of the converter to the smart plug directly or by using the
extension box which is already connected to the pump
The power requirements for the pump, DC to AC Converter and smart plug is
already discussed in the previous chapter

25
 5. PROTOTYPE PHASE

This project entails the design and construction of a solar panel cleaning system
that utilizes water to wash soil build up off the panels’ surface. The original
system design consisted of brushes that moved up and down the solar panel’s
length as they were attached to rails that ran parallel to the panel. This design,
however, required complicated mechanical subsystems that were too difficult to
build and test satisfactorily within the project’s time span.

The final design of the project uses water pumped through poly tubing that
runs along the top of the panel. Water is dispensed through drip irrigation,
spray jets. Power is supplied by the 20W solar panel. A extension box is used
which is connected with smart plug to regulate the duration and the frequency
of the cleaning sessions. The final design proved to be simpler than that of the
original, requiring less physical components and software. In addition, the
simpler design reduces possible complications during building, testing and
future maintenance and is more economically feasible. Power, current, and
voltage ratings were determined to find the appropriate components for the
project system.
Through extensive research, including examination of several patented designs,
every component was carefully selected with time and monetary constraints in
mind. Testing was essential to the development of the prototype as each
subsystem came together.

6. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

26
After experimenting the final design of the project it was found that our aim of
project is fullfilled. The cleaning is done successfully

Before cleaning after cleaning

Figure 6.1- cleaning results
The water which is used to clean the solar panel can be recollected using
different methods and can be used for other purposes which leads to reduction
of water wastage . For further development filters can be placed so that the
water does not carry any dust particles on to the solar panel.

7. COST ANALYSIS

27
 IN
S.NO COMPONENTS NO OF COST PER TOTAL COST
UNITS UNIT (INR) RUPEES
USED

1 SUBMERSIBLE 1 260 RS 260 RS

WATER PUMP

2 SOLAR PANEL 1 1536 RS 1536 RS

3 SMART SWITCH 1 949 RS 949 RS

4 DC TO AC 1 349 RS 349 RS
CONVERTER

5 WATER PIPE 1 70 RS 70 RS

6 SPRINKLER 1 199 RS 199 RS

TOTAL COST 3363 RS

Table 7.1 - cost analysis table

28
 8. CONCLUSION

The system can successfully remove dirt, sand, dust, and other
particles on the surface of solar panels. The chosen spraying
technique limits the pressure at which the water cleans the panels;
therefore, tougher buildups such as bird droppings will likely not be
cleaned effectively by the system. While the system meets the overall
goal, many improvements can be made as listed below.

Further developments can made like adding power monitoring

system, water filters, water level indicator to avoid dry run of pump,
installing Arduino UNO.

Pressure at nozzle of sprinkler is 7-10 bar which is safe to use, deliver

rate of water pump is 1100L/h and power needed is 18 watts . It is
taking 20 seconds for the sprinkler to clean the panel of size
350mm*450mm. The panel consists of 36 cells in total.

29
 9. REFERENCES

1. "Energy - United Nations Sustainable Development", United

Nations Sustainable Development,2018. [Online]. Available:
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/energy/. [Accessed:Feb- 2018]
2. "Sustainable Development Goals: 17 Goals to Transform Our
World", United Nations Sustainable Development, 2018. [Online].
Available: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/. [Accessed:
Feb- 2018]
3. bp.com, 2018. [Online]. Available:
https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energyeconomics/statistic
alreview-of-world-energy/primary-energy.html. [Accessed: Feb-
2018]

4. U.S. Energy Information Administration, “International Energy

Outlook 2013”, [Online] Available:
https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/pdf/0484(2013).pdf
5. bp.com, 2018. [Online]. Available:
https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energyeconomics/statistic
alreview-of-world-energy/renewable-energy.html. [Accessed: Feb-
2018].
6. “Solar Energy Basics | NREL", National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, 2018. [Online]. Available:
https://www.nrel.gov/workingwithus/resolar.html. [Accessed: Feb-
2018].
7. "Photovoltaic (Solar Electric) | SEIA", SEIA, 2018. [Online].
Available:https://www.seia.org/initiatives/photovoltaic-solar-electric.
[Accessed: 24- Feb-\ 2018].
8. "How do Photovoltaics Work? | Science Mission Directorate",
Science.nasa.gov, 2018. [Online]. Available:
https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at- nasa/2002/solarcells.
[Accessed: 24- Feb- 2018].

30
9. "What Is Solar Panel Efficiency? | GreenMatch",
Greenmatch.co.uk, 2018. [Online]. Available:
https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2014/09/what-is-solar-panelefficiency .
[Accessed: 24- Feb- 2018].
10. J. W. Zapata, M. A. Perez, S. Kouro, A. Lensu and A. Suuronen,
"Design of a Cleaning Program for a PV Plant Based on Analysis of
Energy Losses," in IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, vol. 5, no. 6, pp.
17481756, Nov. 2015.
11. Solar panel cleaning system and method, by Moshe Miller. (2014,
Jul 8). US Patent 8771432 [Online]. Available:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-
Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtm/PTO/searchbool.h
tml&r=1 &f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/877142.
12. Automatic solar panel cleaning system, by Diaz Juan Jose
Castellano. 2007, Oct 9). Patent Application 2048455A2 [Online].
Available: https://patents.google.com/patent/EP2048455A2/en
13. G. Ma, "Intelligent automatic solar panel cleaning system",
CN102626703, 2008.
14. Hon Hai Precision Industry CO., Ltd., “Automatic Cleaning
System For Solar Panels And Method Thereof,” USPTO, 12 Dec.,
2008.
15. R. Ford and C. Coulston, Design for Electrical and Computer
Engineers, McGraw-Hill, 2007, p. 37
16. “California Drought Portal", Drought.ca.gov, 2018. [Online].
Available: https://drought.ca.gov/. [Accessed: 28- Feb- 2018].
17. “Travel Tips & Information", Visitcalifornia.com, 2018. [Online].
Available: http://www.visitcalifornia.com/feature/travel-tips-information.
[Accessed: 28-Feb- 2018].

31