Design and Development of Photo-voltaic (PV) Cleaning Robot
Solar energy is the most abundant source of energy for all the forms of life on the planet Earth. It is also the basic source for all the sources of energy except Nuclear Energy. But the solar technology has not matured to the extent of the conventional sources of energy. It faces lots of challenges
2025-06-28 16:31:24 - Adil Khan
Design and Development of Photo-voltaic (PV) Cleaning Robot
Project Area of Specialization Electrical/Electronic EngineeringProject SummarySolar energy is the most abundant source of energy for all the forms of life on the planet Earth. It is also the basic source for all the sources of energy except Nuclear Energy. But the solar technology has not matured to the extent of the conventional sources of energy. It faces lots of challenges such as high cost, erratic and unpredictable in nature, need for storage and low efficiency. This project aims at increasing the efficiency of solar power plants by solving the problem of accumulation of dust on the surface of solar panel which leads to reduction in plant output and overall plant efficiency. It proposes to develop a Solar Panel Cleaning System which could remove the accumulated dust on its surface on a regular basis and maintain the solar power plant output. The system is a robotic system which could move autonomously on the surface of solar panels by using an electro-mechanical system keeping in mind the limited availability of water in areas where such plants are mainly located. This project also aims to reduce the human involvement in the process of solar panel cleaning as it is a very hazardous environment for them in scorching sun.
Project ObjectivesThe mechanical methods to clean PV panels are costly and time consuming.Conventional cleaning is a laborious task.Following are the project objectives
- To minimize the human involvement in the cleaning process.
- To improve the efficiency of photovoltaic panel.
- To increase the reliability of Solar panel.
- To assemble the mechanical units (locomotive and cleaning)
The project will work on a PV panel which will consists two smooth rods and one threaded rod. These rods will be placed parallel to the panel. The Threaded rod will be connected with a stepper motor through coupler. A movable unit is placed on the threaded rod and when the motor will rotate it will rotate the threaded rod which results in the horizontal movement of the movable unit on the threaded rod. The movable unit will also be attached with a rolling brush. The brush will rotate on its own axis with the help of dc motor as well as in horizontal movement because of its attachment with the movable unit and will clean the PV panel. Further the project will have non-contact temperature sensor which will measure the temperature and will compare it with the reference the value exceeds the reference value, water will be pumped on the surface of the PV panel to make it cool down.
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Following are the benefits of the project
- Industrial cleaning in large scale PV power plants.
- To Clean windows of sky scrappers.
- Removal of objects like debris and birds’ feces.
- Prolonging the life of PV panels.
- Easy and efficient than the alternate methods used for cleaning of PV panels.
The Stepper motor is mounted on the PV panel with help of bracket. Two smooth stainless-steel rods are mounted above the PV panel for support and one threaded rod is used for movement of cleaning unit (rolling brush). The Arduino is the controlling unit of the project. The Arduino sends input to the motor driver (A4988). The Driver A4988 has two input pins, STEP pin and DIRECTION pin. Initially the controller sends high pulse to the DIRECTION pin and motor sets its rotation direction to clockwise and when input to DIRECTION pin is low motor sets its rotation direction to counterclockwise. After setting the direction, the controller sends a pulse train, of length equal to the steps of motor and the micro stepping chosen, to the STEP pin which in result rotates the motor in defined direction. The shaft of the Stepper motor is coupled with the threaded rod with the help of a coupler (5mm-8mm). The threaded rod is passed through a T8 Nut Housing. When the motor rotates the threaded rod also rotates, by restricting the nut housing’s rotation, T8 nut housing will have a linear movement on the threaded rod. The T8 nut housing is attached to the linear ball bearing, on the smooth stainless-steel rod, for support. A roller brush is used for dusting purpose. One side of the roller brush is attached to DC motor and other side to the T8 nut housing for support. When the Stepper motor is given input, at the same instant a pulse is given to the DC motor which is connected to the roller brush. Thus, removing dust/soil or any other object on the PV panel. When the brush reaches the end of the panel a low pulse to the DIRECTION pin is sent by the controller, which reverses the direction of rotation of the motor, thus bringing back the roller brush to its initial position. The MLX90614 non-contact temperature is attached with the Arduino. The sensor will sense the temperature and will give pulse to Arduino to compare it with the reference value. If the temperature exceeds the reference value, the Arduino will give pulse to the water pump to pump the water on the surface of the PV panel. The process keeps on repeating unless there is no more dust/soil layer or objects present and PV panel is cool down.
Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry Energy Other Industries Others Core Technology RoboticsOther Technologies OthersSustainable Development Goals Affordable and Clean EnergyRequired Resources| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 28920 | |||
| Optical Axis 800 mm Smooth Rods 8mm | Equipment | 2 | 960 | 1920 |
| RepRap Rod Holder Shaft 8mm | Equipment | 2 | 300 | 600 |
| SCS8UU 8mm Linear Motion Ball Bearing Machinery Slide Bushing | Equipment | 2 | 400 | 800 |
| Nema 17 Stepper motor | Equipment | 1 | 440 | 440 |
| motor driver (A4988) | Equipment | 1 | 140 | 140 |
| Arduino UNO | Equipment | 1 | 680 | 680 |
| Battery 12v | Equipment | 1 | 1680 | 1680 |
| Threaded Rod with T8 Nut Housing | Equipment | 1 | 3000 | 3000 |
| Solar panel 700mm | Equipment | 1 | 3500 | 3500 |
| MLX90614 non-contact temperature | Equipment | 6 | 1000 | 6000 |
| 12v Water pump with pump motor | Equipment | 4 | 450 | 1800 |
| Rolling brush | Equipment | 1 | 500 | 500 |
| PCB(5''*4.4'') | Equipment | 1 | 100 | 100 |
| Solar panel stand weilding | Miscellaneous | 1 | 1000 | 1000 |
| Steel sheet for stand (5kg) | Miscellaneous | 1 | 650 | 650 |
| Connecting wires | Equipment | 20 | 20 | 400 |
| limit switches | Equipment | 4 | 30 | 120 |
| Coupler 5mm to 8mm | Equipment | 1 | 500 | 500 |
| Dc motors | Equipment | 2 | 120 | 240 |
| jump cables packet | Equipment | 2 | 70 | 140 |
| multimeter | Equipment | 1 | 1050 | 1050 |
| adapter 12v | Equipment | 1 | 200 | 200 |
| Thesis printing | Miscellaneous | 3 | 1000 | 3000 |
| Presentation reports | Miscellaneous | 3 | 120 | 360 |
| Motor Bracket | Equipment | 1 | 100 | 100 |