Like all electronic devices, your solar panel too needs to be cleaned and maintained properly. Cleaning it every day is one way to keep it functional.
However, cleaning your solar panel needs a lot of expert hard work and water to make it clean and fully functional. But water is not abundant everywhere and thus cleaning them manually with water will incur a lot of expenses. More so, if it’s done on a regular basis.
Here is where the robotic cleaning of solar panels comes into play. With robotic cleaning of your PV panels, you don’t have to worry about the water and the huge expenses of hiring professional cleaners.
However, as with every technology, robotic cleaning systems have their pros and cons as well. Let’s take a look at the factors you must consider before purchasing a robotic cleaning unit.
Customization
When you opt for a robotic solar panel cleaning unit, the first thing you should look out for is the scope of customization in it. By saying customization, here we refer to the ability to change the shape and size to fit into the type of panel. Cleaning systems must be such that they can be customized according to the shape of solar modules. So, look out for the ability of customization first.
Efficiency
Efficiency is another factor that you must keep in mind when you plan to buy a robotic cleaner. Efficiency here means the speed and capacity of the cleaners. You should look out for cleaners with a high number of modules at a given time.
Damage Proof
When purchasing a robotic solar cleaning system, always check if the load of the machine goes onto the aluminum frames or the cells.
If it’s so, and the tires of the system slide on the module surface, then it’s better not to invest in such a system. Because, if the load directly goes onto the modules, chances of micro-cracks developing increases which is the worst thing that can happen to your modules.
Just keep one thing in mind. The tires must slide over the aluminum frame and not the modules. That way your solar modules will be safe from developing cracks and can perform optimally.
In addition to that, you should also look for the waterproof rating of the cleaning system. That way, bad weather conditions won’t affect its performance.
Weight
To avoid putting an unnecessary burden on your plates, the weight of the cleaning system must not be very high. In fact, you should always look out for robotic cleaning systems that weigh less. That way, you will save your solar plates to form cracks.
Automated Alarms
Another thing to consider when opting for a robotic cleaning system is whether it sends signals or alarms for anything that might go wrong with it. Suppose you have installed a robotic cleaning system and it goes off for some reason without providing you with some sort of feedback or alarm. You won’t learn about the discrepancies that have happened and won’t be able to take action to resolve the issues. So, always look out for systems that give fault signals and regular feedback so that you can be sure that the system is working fine and have peace of mind.
These are the factors you should keep in mind when opting for the robotic cleaning of solar panels. As you can see, along with being a safe system for cleaning your solar panels, they have other benefits as well. Particularly, where water availability is low or scarce, these robotic systems are a boon.
However, it’s a new technology and people still clean their solar panels with water at large. But dry or robotic cleaning is surely entering the market and with time, we might see a boost in dry cleaning.
The costs of installing robotic cleaning systems also are sure to go down as more and more people use this for cleaning their solar panels.