• With the present energy, the need to suffice the demand of

population density and energy resources is shifted to renewable

energy (RE) resources.
• Solar energy is clean and abundantly available. But it lacks in
efficiency, and only 30–40% conversion of sun irradiation
energy into electrical energy is possible.
The present energy consumption scenario is clearly showing the faster
depletion of fossil fuel reserves
The use of renewable energy sources like solar PV, wind and such alternatives
has increased in the recent years. Considerable loss in conversion efficiency
of solar PV system has been noticed due to non availability of proper
insulation, tilt angle and orientation of pannel and accumulation of dust
particles on the panels or shading.

A comparative study of various cleaning methods of solar panels has been

done in this article with emphasis on innovative idea of separation of dust by
electrostatic precipitator (ESP).
 Electrostatic precipitators Method
the separation of dust particles is done by electrostatic precipitators. Electrostatic
precipitators uses static energy to remove dust particles from solar PV panels
surface area. It also has a weight sensor which monitor weight of dust particles on
surface of solar PV panels. Then through arduino controller we clean the dust by
receiving commands from the sensor.
Basically ESP ionizes dust particles and forces the dirt to gather at positive
terminal of electrode. Then we can manually or automatically clean the dust from
the panel.

 DISADVANTAGES:
 High Capital Costs
 Requires Large Space
 Not Flexible Once Installed
 Proposed Method

 Online Multi-parameters Electronic

Monitoring System for Solar Photovoltaic Panel
Gained power from the photovoltaic solar panel is a main factor reflects the
panel performance. This factor is affected by many parameters. Dust density,
light intensity as well as ambient temperature have direct effect on the panel
performance
 Block Diagram Of Proposed Monitoring System
 Working
All the environmental parameters which are effect on this performance
should be considered. The system includes different sensors work
together with the other part of the system to offer online records.
In the system, the levels of light intensity on the panel, dust density in
the air, temperature and humidity all are monitored. In addition, the
deliver power to the resistive load is also monitored as a result with
respect to the above mentioned parameters. The effect of each
parameter is evaluated individually during analysis the records of the
instantaneously level of the delivered power
Many factors are affecting the solar panel performance.
Some factors are proportional positively on the obtained electrical power,
while other factors are affecting negatively. The collected solar energy which
converted to the electrical power level is proportional with the instantaneous
level of light intensity .
Dust density level is the other parameter which represents an obstacle
between light beams and the front surface of the solar panel. The dust’s
particles deposits on the panel which will reduce the amount of radiation
falling on the PV cells from the sun light . The more horizontal is the surface,
the more dust particles will be collected on that surface
Ambient temperature has high priority effect on the solar panel effectiveness.
Ambient humidity also affects negatively the panel performance
A light intensity sensor is selected to measure the direct sun light intensity
A. Light Intensity Measurement
A light intensity sensor is selected to measure the direct sun light intensity. The
sensor is arranged in a small box of top glass layer. The sensor is fixed at the
same angle of the panel to have same light effect as on the panel and the glass
surface of the box as well. The increase of dust deposition will decrease the light
intensity going through the dusty surface.

Fig: Light intensity sensor and wiring with arduino terminals

B. Dust Density Measurement
The dust sensor is an optical sensing system that detects the dust particles by
infrared diode and receiver which can detect dust particles in milligrams range.
Dust density sensor is selected to measure the changing in the dust density around
the solar panel.

Fig: Dust sensor and wiring with arduino

C. Ambient Temperature & Humidity Measurement
Temperature & humidity sensor is included to the system to measure the ambient
temperature and humidity around the panel.The sensor is made by Rotronic and has
high accuracy.

Fig: Temperature & Humidity sensor , data loggers and system

D. Electrical Power Measurement
Panel effectiveness is evaluated through the quantity of the delivered power to the
connected loads. Power measuring accuracy is essential to have precise evaluation. To
monitor the load power; load voltage and current are measured, then the product of
load voltage and current is calculated continuously to have continuous power
measurement. Due to the limitation of the microcontroller input voltage level, the load
voltage and current measurements are need to design a suitable voltage divider and
shunt resistor respectively to adjust the maximum limit of the Arduino terminal input
voltage no more that 5 V. An electrolyte capacitor of 1000 uF is added to prevent and
sudden increase in the power which may damage system

Fig: Power measurement ckt with arduino terminals

E. Data logging software

long with the microcontroller (Arduino), a data logging software should be

available. The original Arduino software is reading and printing the outputs on the
computer display without saving them which is risky in case of any computer
failure. In order to prevent these issues, another software called CoolTerm to save
the desired values to a text file is used
F. Records Collecting Program Flowchart
 Flow chart of the arduino program
 Methods Used For Cleaning Of Solar PV Panels.

 Truck mounted
Truck mounted cleaning systems consist of a brush attached to a truck or other
vehicle , which drives between the PV panels rows.

 Semi‐automated
Semi‐automated cleaning devices must be placed at the beginning of each PV
module-mounting table. The device then moves automatically in one direction over the surface
of the PV modules.
After completing one PV module table the device has to
be carried and placed onto the next PV module table by hand.
 Portable Robots
Through robots we can also clean solar PV modules
They have sensors and a control system for detecting dirt on the PV module surface and then
clean it.
Conclusion
An online electronic monitoring system is designed and implemented for solar PV panel
performance testing. The presented system is characterized by simplicity and easy
using. The implemented system is working on measuring the levels of many physical
parameters; light intensity, dust density, ambient temperature and humidity. These
parameters are affecting individually positively or negatively on the panel
effectiveness which reflected on the output power of the panel. The effectiveness of
the panel is analyzed with respect to each parameter separately. These parameters
affect positively whereas the effect of the other is negative on the output power