Field test and electrode optimization of electrodynamic cleaning systems for solar panels

Abstract

Soiling is the major cause of power loss of photovoltaics (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) in desert areas. Electrodynamic cleaning system (EDS) is an automatic and water‐free integrated cleaning system for mirrors or solar panels, which uses pulsed electric fields to remove dust off their surface. The first EDS field test over a long period on PV modules is reported here and shows a clear effect on soiling reduction in real conditions in Saudi Arabia. A total of 458 days of measurements is analyzed, and depending on the considered periods, performance losses due to soiling (soiling rate) can vary from −0.06%/day to −0.41%/day for a reference module, while the relative soiling rate reduction using an EDS can be up to 95.7% with an average of 32.1%. Cost calculations demonstrate an added value of the modules equipped with the EDS between 2.6 and 5.2 ¢/Wp compared with usual cleaning system, which is nearly between 10% and 20% of the module price. In addition, extended indoor tests of various electrode designs of EDS for heliostat dedicated to CSP or PV applications show a high cleaning efficiency of up to 98% with front glass thickness of more than 1 mm. A good specular reflectivity, only 4% lower than the bare reference mirror, is obtained with patterned sputtered silver in a spiral electrode design. High reliability of two types of electrode deposition is demonstrated after 200 cycles between −40°C and +85°C.

The Study of Dust Removal Using Electrostatic Cleaning System for Solar Panels

“…An investigation of the optimal voltage to remove particles determined 2.8 kVp-p for low voltage, while 11.8 kVp-p was sufficient to continually move particles [44]. Dust transport was observed to decrease as the cycle frequency increased from 0.5 to 10 Hz [44]; however, other studies determined the greatest transport rate occurred at 1 Hz [45].…”

Transformation, reaction and organization of functional nanostructures using solution-based microreactor-assisted nanomaterial deposition for solar photovoltaics

“…206 Even in optimized cleaning scenarios, soiling reduces the current global solar power production by at least 3-4%, with at least 3-6 billion US dollar annual revenue losses, which could rise to 4-7%, and more than 4-8 billion US dollar losses, in 2023 according to Ilse et al 207 Ilse's team performed a techno-economic assessment of soiling mitigation strategies. These strategies include automated cleaning machines, 208,209 anti-soiling coatings, [210][211][212][213][214] PV module design, 215 tracking system modifications, 216 improved soiling monitoring, 217,218 site adaption, 210,219 electrodynamic screens, [220][221][222] wind cleaning, 223,224 and dew mitigation. 225,226 Their analysis shows that anti-soiling coatings are the most costeffective strategies and can be combined with other mitigation strategies such as fully automated cleaning, PV module design modification, and tracking system modification.…”

Techno-Economic Assessment of Soiling Losses and Mitigation Strategies for Solar Power Generation

“…Transparent electrodynamic screens 47 (EDSs), also called electrodynamic dust shields 85 or cleaning systems, [86][87][88] repel dust particles by creating a time-varying (dynamic) electric field over a surface. 2 The fields are often generated by interdigitated electrodes embedded in a protective film, supplied with alternating high voltages (Figure 4C).…”

“…2,45,47,85 Some common issues have been reported, including reduced effectiveness in cases of high relative humidity, 2,89 long particle duration on the surface, 2,85 and low surface tilt angle. 89 A recently launched commercial device reported 32% soiling rate reduction in Saudi Arabia, 87 but large-scale implementation has not occurred yet due to its relatively high cost of around 30 V/m 2 (PV module prices are actually in the range of 30-90 V/m 2 ). There are attempts to mass-produce EDS systems to lower their cost.…”