Solar Panel Cleaning Systems and their Pros and Cons

Solar Panel Cleaning Systems

There are many ways to clean solar panels but the general dos and don’ts include

• Don’t use a pressure washer
• Don’t use lots of water (it is expensive and the property owner will not forgive you)

• Do consider automation as it lowers the cost of cleaning significantly and increases your productivity and quality
• Understand that there are 2 main segments. 1) Commercial & Industrial Solar Panel Cleaning Systems 2) Utility-Scale Solar Panel Cleaning Systems.

Commercial & Industrial Solar panel cleaning systems

Commercial and Industrial Solar panel cleaning systems are challenging because they rarely have water and energy sources next to the solar panels. They can be dangerous to clean since they may be on rooftops, carports, or off the ground. Each installation is very unique since solar panel installers do not consider cleaning when they design the layout. Soilar Technologies offers this support to PV developers and designers.

The main systems include

Semi-Automation

Within semi-automation, you have solar panel cleaning systems

• Solar Panel Cleaning Robot – The robot is driven by an operator via remote control. The robot travels in xy-axis coordinates and is very similar to driving a remote control toy car. This system requires a high upfront cost but productivity levels improve by 4x. There are several xy semi-automated robots on the market but not all brands are the same and the quality of the manufacturer and post-sale service is important.
  • Pros – Productivity rates improve by 4x, Less exposure to employee lawsuits, it safer than cleaning manually, less water consumption, Facilitates scaling of your business. Payback happens within the first month.
  • Cons – Requires an investment of USD $20,000 – USD $50,000, Operators must be trained, the robots can be heavy and may require 2 to 3 operators. Inclination levels may be an issue.

• Lift and Shift Solar panel cleaning machine that is moved and allocated by an operator. This system also works nicely but usually requires “Custom-made solar panel cleaning robots”.
  • Pros – If inclination levels are high this robot will work, easy to use, and Payback happens within the 6 months
  • Cons – Time to delivery, since these robots are custom, you will have to wait 3 months to get them.

Manual Solar Panel Cleaning Systems

• Cleaning manually with a water-fed pole. While this system “works” for just about any installation, it is expensive in terms of labor rates and liabilities associated.
  • Pros – cheap labor can be used, easy to start a business with this method
  • Cons – Lots of people means lots of liability. Accident levels will be higher with this cleaning system. Water consumption rates are much higher with this system.

Utility Scale Solar Panel Cleaning Systems

• Tractor Brush System – This solution requires a higher upfront cost since you need a tractor, hydraulic arm, and smart rotating brush with proximity sensors however it is the most productive solution on the market.
  • Pros – The cheapest way to clean a utility-scale installation, Great payback, and ROI
  • Cons – Cannot be used on all installations, may not be ideal for very desertic areas such as the Sahara or Atacama desert

• Powered Lift and Shift – This solar panel cleaning system is great for utility-scale installations where a tractor cannot be used or the ground is pure sand like in the Sahara or Atacama desert. With this solution, the operators fix the robot to several arrays and simultaneously move them down the array. The robots can do dry and wet cleaning and are extremely productive.
  • Pros – This system works on just about every utility-scale installation, Payback compared to manually cleaning is extremely high, CAPEX values are reasonable any ROI usually happens with the first cleaning
  • Cons – More expensive than the Lift and Shift system, requires more operators than the Tractor Brush system

Fixed Slider with Docking Station – 100% Dry cleaning

Dry Solar Panel Cleaning Robotics

• – – This system is abuzz these days and conceptually it is very simple. We have one robot per row/array that is fixed and solar-powered. The robot moves back and forth daily and no human intervention is needed. While this system is being implemented the CAPEX values are extremely high and the performance loss due to soiling “the cost of being dirty” on the solar panels has yet to prove that the ROI is ideal.
  • Pros – Human intervention is only required for technical repair. Performance loss due to solar panel soiling is virtually zero. Great for areas that are VERY remote and with extremely high soiling levels.
  • Cons – CAPEX values are VERY high and performance loss due to soiling has to average over 3% for this system to be justified. The financials still do not prove that this system is economically beneficial. These solutions only work in extremely arid regions such as the Atacama and Sahara desert where humidity levels are virtually non-existent since they only do dry cleaning. These solutions do not work well where there is humidity.

Solar Panel Cleaning Automation is a very young industry. When choosing your system we recommend you work with consultants to find the best solution for your company or installation. Key takeaways

• Study the system cost not just the cost of the machinery.
• Calculate your CAPEX & OPEX for each system to determine the best solution from a financial perspective.
• Water is expensive, consider it in your analysis. Different robots have different consumption levels.
• Robots have different productivity levels, consider this in your analysis.
• Wear and Tear are extremely important – There are lots of cheap robots on the market that high very high wear and tear costs. Consider this factor in your analysis.
• Inclination levels are a factor you must know. Not all robots have great inclination levels.
• PV Soiling Levels are key. You have to compare the cost of being dirty to the cost of each solar panel cleaning system to see with the system is ideal. Invest in soiling monitoring such as the solutions.
• Work with solar panel cleaning engineers to find the best solution.