How to clean a solar PV panel?

This natural cleaning of PV panels is not possible. In the manual cleaning technique, the PV module’s front surface is cleaned manually with mops, wipers, water jetting, or detergent/water rinsing. Manual cleaning is the best-suited method for small-scale solar PV plants.

How much water do you need to clean a PV panel?

There are four common methods of PV panel washing: manual cleaning, high-pressure water gun cleaning, sprinkler cleaning, and robot cleaning [ 50 ]. The corresponding volume of water used for these four methods is 1 L, 10 L, 6.5 L, and 5 L per 1 kW installed capacity, respectively.

How to clean a solar PV module?

In the manual cleaning technique, the PV module’s front surface is cleaned manually with mops, wipers, water jetting, or detergent/water rinsing. Manual cleaning is the best-suited method for small-scale solar PV plants. The significant problems in these methods are the consumption of water and power by the water pumping system.

Do PV panels need to be cleaned?

In some cases, however, dust particles and soiling on the PV panel pose a real challenge to clean, as in many cases cleaning would lead to possible damage to the surface of the PV panel . Also, many cleaning techniques rely on water to clean PV panels, which may lead to inefficient usage of water supply and waste.

How to maintain high efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels?

Several soiling mitigation solutions and cleaning techniques have been developed to maintain high efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels. First of its kind, the investigation of the adaptability of the cleaning systems to solar trackers has been performed.

Can a waterless cleaning method remove dust from solar panels?

Dust that accumulates on solar panels is a major problem, but washing the panels uses huge amounts of water. MIT engineers have now developed a waterless cleaning method to remove dust on solar installations in water-limited regions, improving overall efficiency. Image courtesy of the researchers.