Self-Cleaning Solar Panel Technology

US scientists have been working on self-cleaning solar panel technology whose origin lies in NASA space missions to Mars.

The self-cleaning technology allows solar panels to stop dust collecting and features sensors which monitor dust levels. Solar panels covered in dust can be only 20 per cent as efficient as clean ones since dust layers obscure the visible surface, limit light intake and lower associated electricity production levels.

Dusty photovoltaic devices are common occurrences in the hot and dry locations often used to set up solar arrays, such as deserts. The Mojave Desert in particular is home to vast solar power sites and, here, 17 kilograms of dust can accumulate in every square kilometre.

Solar Panel Cleaning

Manual solar panel dust cleaning techniques are not really viable given the large areas that need to be targeted and the relative dryness of desert areas. Consequently, solar panel cleaning issues are a significant issue for the firms involved in installing the devices.

The solar panel cleaning technology is the result of a tie-up between NASA scientists and Boston University’s Malay Mazumder, and its original application saw it feature within NASA’s pair of MER (Mars Exploration Rover) robot vehicles. Individual solar cells are treated to a coat of a highly sensitive material that assesses the presence of dust and generates an electrical charge to repel it when it’s approaching or settling.

Self-Cleaning Solar Technology

According to Mazumder, the self-cleaning solar technology can remove as much as 90 per cent of the dust after 120 seconds, and he adds that associated electricity consumption levels are low. He also thinks that no comparable technologies have been launched at the present time.

Solar energy produced by solar panels currently makes up well under one per cent of the global energy total. This figure is set to increase in line with the increasing popularity of photovoltaic technologies, use of which has doubled since 2003.

“Less than 0.04 per cent of global energy production is derived from solar panels, but if only four per cent of the world's deserts were dedicated to solar power harvesting, our energy needs could be completely met worldwide”, Mazumder told those present at the American Chemical Society’s recent National Meeting. “This self-cleaning technology can play an important role.”

NASA and Mazumder’s self-cleaning solar panel technology is set to make its market debut in 2011.

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