Bachelor of Engineering

In
Mechanical Engineering 
 

CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI MAHARAJ INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY,
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
PANVEL, RAIGAD, INDIA 410206
UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
2017-18
  
A Project presentation
on

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF MICROCONTROLLER

BASED AUTOMATIC SOLAR PANEL CLEANING SYSTEM

Presented By:
Tushar yamgar (4160) 
Abhijeet jadhav (4113)
Nikesh Pingale (4143)
Akash Hadawale (4111)

 
 Abstarct
• The purpose of this project is to develop a automatic self-
cleaning mechanism for cleaning the solar panel so that the
process can become more reliable and fast, thus increasing the
power output of the solar power plant

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 Contents
1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
3. Problem Statement
4. Objectives
5. Methodology
6. Conclusions & Future Scope
7. References

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 1.Introduction
• In our project we used the roller brush which clean the solar
panel with the help of sensor operated cleaning system. So that
we can easily operate this system as per our requirement or as
per dust level in solar panel. The water is not used for cleaning
purpose so it is completely dry clean system.
• In dusty areas such as the Middle East and India, solar panels
could lose electricity production by 10 % to 35 % over time if
they remain unwashed
• The challenge of keeping solar panels dust free will grow as
more solar power projects are built worldwide.

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 2.Problem Statement
• Environmental factors affecting efficiency of PV panels
• Dust, dirt, bird droppings, pollen and sea salt
• time taking and risk of damage to the expensive solar panels by
the unskilled labour
• Dealing with oily stains
• Other methods are more expensive and water is required to
clean solar panel.

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 3.Literature Review
Title, Author and Year Research methodology used Conclusion
Automatic Cleaning of Solar Panel studying the effects of dust on the f The losses of the output power of the
Dr. D. B. Kulkarni solar panels. Choosing the proper fixed solar panel at a tilt angle (35) is
Vol. 5 Issue 4 July 2015 microcontroller & sensor about 25% of the rated yield . The dirt
and bird drop make a hot spot in the
panel, and it can make temporary fail in
the panel.
Effect of Dust Accumulation on A measuring maximum operating Periodically weekly cleaning maintained
Performance of Photovoltaic Solar Voltage, and Current on each module for performance losses between 2 – 2.5%.
Modules in Sahara Environment both before/after washing modules. So In framework once a week cleaning
Ali Omar Mohamed the maximum current and voltage is intervals and rinse every three days
J. Basic. Appl. Sci. Res., measured at terminal via digital Multi- from , then follows by once a month ,
2(11)11030-11036, 2012 TextRoad meter device. that help to reduce the dirt's
Publication
3] http://waset.org/publications/10305/effects-of-dust-on-the-performance-of-pv-panels
[4] http://marshcleaningsolutions.yolasite.com/services.php
[5] https://ac.els-cdn.com/S1876610214007425/1-s2.0-S1876610214007425-main.pdf?_tid=105c74c8-
bed6-11e7-b11a-00000aacb362&acdnat=1509521406_8322b43da4aa6f0f515913663961499f]
[6] https://econpapers.repec.org/article/eeerenene/v_3a60_3ay_3a2013_3ai_3ac_3ap_3a633-636.htm

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 4.Objectives
• Water free technique
• Brush length can be adjusted according to panel width.
• Designed to run fully autonomous (No human is required)
• Improve solar system performance
• Reduce solar power plant operation cost
• Extend lifetime of solar panels
• Increases the production rate in large scale industry.
• Do not use any kind of external source such as electricity or water for its
operation.
• Decreases Labor cost and Overall maintenance cost
 

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 5.Methodology
5.1 Process flow chart:

•  1. Material Selection

• 2. Fabrication
• 3. Selection Of Standard Component
• 4. Design For Standard Components
• 5. Purchasing Of Standard Component
• 6. Assembly Of Components
• 7. Testing And Commisioning   

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 5.2 Material Selection:

MATERIAL SPECIFICATION

MS frame 12*6 Meter

Solar panel 12v & 20w PV multi- crystalline solar panel

Battery 12v & 7 amp, sealed lead-acid rechargeable

battery

Driving motor 100 rpm ,100ma

Wiper motor 30rpm, 72w, 6amp

Microcontroller Atmega 8 microcontroller

Ball bearing 12 mm dia / Brg no. skf 6201

Bicycle chain & 12.5 Department

mm pitch /18 teeth
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 5.3 Block Dia & Working Principle:

• In this project we used automatic object

able sensor & roller for cleaning of solar
plate.

• In this system when dust or other

particles placed on solar plate the sensors
starts to work.

• Sensor senses the particles and sends

feedback to the microcontroller & the
roller start and completely clean the plate.

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 5.4 Cost Estimation: ( Material Cost )
SR.NO. MATERIAL QUANTITY TOTAL ESTIMATED COST

1.
Ms Frame 20 kg 960

2.
Solar Panel (20W) 1 2500
Battery (12V), Microcontroller,
3. IR Sensor 1+1+1 750+80+110

4. Driving Motor & Wiper Motor 1+1 750+300

5.
Bicycle Chain & Sprocket 2&4 540

6. Ball Bearing 4 250

7. Nylon Roller &Bush 2+8 250+350

8. Shaft 2 340
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 Labour Cost:
SR. NO. OPERATION HOURS AMOUNT

1 Welding 3 1400

2 Grinding 1/2 200

3 Cutting 2 780

4 Assembly 4 1000

5 Painting ½ 350

TOTAL 3730

Total Cost : 11510 /-

Raw Material Cost + STD Parts Cost + Labour Cost +trasport Cost
Total cost of project = 7180 + 3730+600

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 6. Conclusions & future scope
• 6.1 Conclusion:
• Dry cleaning can' not remove all the dirt on the surface of the solar panel, but it is able to remove the
outer layers of the dust.
• Dust must be removed from the surface of solar PV panel in order to ensure highest performance,
• It was also shown that under greater irradiation, the effect of dust became slightly reduced but not
negligible.
• Also frequent periodic cleaning ensures that the solar panel works with a good transmittance
consistently at all times.
• 6.2 Future scope:
• Even though our project worked perfectly and was functioning as initially planned, there are still a lot
of improvements that can be made to make it more marketable and efficient.
• First of all, we would like to deal with reducing the friction losses in our project. It is something we did
not account for since our panel was prepared by the ECE Machine Shop. We could use a better, and
more lubricated ball-screw which would significantly reduce our friction losses.
• We would also work on making our project more marketable by designing and ordering a PCB and
would also reduce its size considerably.
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 7. References
Journal Papers:
[1] Gradual Reduction of energy production of pv plants through continuous soiling. Prof. Dr.
H. Häberlin and Ch. Renken. University of Applied Science Bern.University of Technology
and Architecture Burgdorf.
[2] A. Salim, F. Huraib, and N. Eugenio, " PV power-study of system options and optimization,"
in Proceedings of the 8th European PV Solar, Energy Conference, Florence, Italy, 1988.
[3] http://waset.org/publications/10305/effects-of-dust-on-the-performance-of-pv-panels
[4] http://marshcleaningsolutions.yolasite.com/services.php
[5] https://ac.els-cdn.com/S1876610214007425/1-s2.0-S1876610214007425- main.pdf?
_tid=105c74c8-bed6-11e7-
b11a-00000aacb362&acdnat=1509521406_8322b43da4aa6f0f515913663961499f]
[6] https://econpapers.repec.org/article/eeerenene/
v_3a60_3ay_3a2013_3ai_3ac_3ap_3a633-636.htm
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Thanking You

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