Autonomous Solar Panel Cleaning Robot

Abstract

The dust particles accumulating on the solar panels will prevent the solar energy from reaching the solar cells, thereby reducing the overall power generation. Power output is reduced as much as by 50%, if the module is not cleaned for a month. In order to regularly clean the dust, an automatic cleaning system which removes the dust on the solar panel is developed. In this paper, the problem is reviewed and the method for dust removal is discussed. A robot cleaning device is developed and it travels the entire length of the panel. A PIC microcontroller is used to implement robots control system. The robot provided a favorable result and proved that such a system is viable by making the robotic cleaning possible, thus helping the solar panel to maintain its efficiency.