Soiling of solar PV panels is a problem affecting efficiency as well as its maintenance. Water based cleaning is a solution generally followed which is labor intensive and a challenge to optimum use of water. We tried self cleaning type coating available in the market as a solution but was not successful. Hydrophobicity of coating vanished when installed in a solar field. What would be the self cleaning type of coating to keep solar PV panels clean without affecting receiver efficiency? Any one is using this type of coating for such applications?
You want to use a hydrophobic nanocoating that is sufficiently thin so that it does not scatter light, and therefore, does not interfere with the solar panel's performance. There are a number of research activites in this area with some technologies that hold promise of being commercially viable. Typically spray on coatings degrade and do not have good durability so coatings that can covalently bond to a surface are advantagous. See this article from 2012: https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/energy/self-cleaning-solar-panels-maximize-efficiency
This UK based company has a product that is durable for 5 years. http://www.nanoshell.co.uk/protective-coatings/solar-panel-pv
DuPont supplies Teflon sheets for PV protection. http://www2.dupont.com/Teflon_Industrial/en_US/assets/downloads/k15778.pdf
There are many groups around the world exploring self cleaning properties of substrates. Myself, I came out of a research group that had some experience with this through the deposition of ultra-thin inorganic coatings using a vapor phase process inspired by ALD. Alternatively you can find groups, such as the group whose article is attached, that explore self cleaning fucntional coatings.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/347/6226/1132.abstract
If you are searching for a suitable coating for solar panels then this might help :
http://sinovoltaics.com/technology/solar-panel-nano-coatings-use-or-not/
Hi Mr. Jayan ,
We did hydrophobic coating in india and got positive result .
We would be happy to share with you . We have dropped a message regarding that on your linkedIn profile.
Ms Asha,
Which company you are representing? If you have any case studies in India may please forward it to [email protected]. Thanks
Mr. Jayan ,
I will share study report with you on your mail id.
Email id : [email protected], [email protected]
Ms. Asha -
Would you be able to make this report available for others? I am putting together a report on liquid repelling coatings for solar applications.
Mr. Jayan- Have you had any success in your study and would you be able to share some of your information?
Regards-
Carol
Hi Mr. Jayan ,
Could you please share your results on my mail id , [email protected],[email protected]
Hi. Mr. Jayan
can you please tell me what was the result?
My email is [email protected]
Hi Ms. Asha can you please share your study report with me?
My email is [email protected]
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