Classifications

• • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
  • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
  • F24S—SOLAR HEAT COLLECTORS; SOLAR HEAT SYSTEMS
  • F24S40/00—Safety or protection arrangements of solar heat collectors; Preventing malfunction of solar heat collectors
  • F24S40/20—Cleaning; Removing snow
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
  • Y02E10/40—Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers

Definitions

• the present invention relates in general to the sector of solar panels and refers in particular to a system for automatically cleaning the surface of such single or adjacent solar panels, especially photovoltaic and hybrid solar panels.
• Solar panels have been designed and structured to exploit solar energy and transform solar energy into energy that is useful for the activities of man.
• thermal solar panels that are intended to heat a fluid
• photovoltaic solar panels that are intended to produce electric energy
• hybrid solar panels intended for producing thermal energy and electric power at the same time.
• the surface of the solar panels is transparent, typically made of glass or the like, and has to be kept as clean as possible. It is, however, clear that in view of the exposure the surfaces of the solar panels are subject to deposits of dust and of substances that tend to make the surfaces opaque, thus limiting the absorption of solar radiation and the efficiency of the photovoltaic modules.
• washing systems have been adopted that simply use jets of pressurised water directed at the surface of the solar panels.
• the effectiveness thereof appears to be slight and any way limited inasmuch as the water remains on the surface of the panels, and as it dries through the effect of evaporation it may leave calcareous deposits and/or impurities that still tend to make the surface opaque.
• the object of the present invention is to resolve effectively the problem of cleaning the surfaces of solar panels, in particular of photovoltaic and hybrid solar panels, not only through washing but also through forced drying thereof so that no deposits or substances remain that may limit the absorption of solar radiation.
• the present invention proposes a cleaning system that essentially comprises at least one bar of nozzles that is oriented transversely and is movable parallel to itself with outward and return strokes over the surface of adjacent solar panels that is connected both to a source of washing water and to a source of pressurised air and is managed so as to dispense alternately jets of washing water during one stroke thereof and jets of pressurised air during a subsequent stroke over the surface of the panels.
• the surface of the panels is first washed efficiently with jets of water and successively force-dried so as to remove immediately the coating and the drops of water from the surface so that no deposits or undesired marks remain thereupon.
• figure 1 shows schematically the system applied to a plurality of solar panels and figure 2 shows a plan view thereof.
• the system according to the invention is associable with a plurality of adjacent solar panels 10, in particular photovoltaic panels, that can be installed in any traditional manner.
• the system comprises supporting means 11 to be connected to a structure linked to the solar panels 10 and, on said structure, at least one horizontal tubular bar 12, arranged above and oriented transversely to the panels and carrying a series of nozzles.
• the tubular bar 12 with nozzles may be of the modular type and be composable in length in function of the width of the set of panels to be washed and the nozzles supported thereby can be fixed and be of the self-cleaning type, nevertheless oriented towards the surface of the panels 10.
• the bar 12 with nozzles is movable parallel to itself over the panels 10 with an outward and a return stroke, according to the arrows in Fig.2, respectively from bottom to top and vice versa when the panels 10 have a tilted arrangement.
• the bar 12 is connected to a movement device that may consist of a least one pair of parallel belts 13 or the like driven on respective transmissions or pulleys 14, two of which are coaxial and fastened to a control shaft 15 rotated by a reduction gear connected thereto, with no need for synchronisation.
• a control shaft 15 can be modular and be composable in length according to the width of the panels to be washed.
• the tubular bar 12 carrying the nozzles is connected both to a washing water source and to a pressurised air source by conduits according to the arrows A and Ar, respectively.
• the water source - which is not shown - may consist of an autoclave or of a dedicated pumping system and at least for winter temperature problems it will be sheltered, in a loft, or will be thermally insulated.
• the source of pressurised air may consist of a compressor 16 that can be located anywhere according to necessity, also on a roof.
• the system can be managed by a suitable programming unit in such a manner that the bar 12 with nozzles is connected alternately to the water source during at least one outward stroke of the bar 12 and to the pressurised air source during the return stroke of the bar 12.
• the panels 11 are washed with jets of pressurised water when the bar 12 with nozzles moves from bottom to top and are then dried by jets of pressurised air when the bar 12 with nozzles performs the stroke from top to bottom so as to evacuate each coating and drop of water from the surface of the panels, leaving the surface perfectly clean.
• pressurised water and pressurised air are dispensed alternately from the same single series of nozzles, with the advantage of simplicity in the creation of the system and of emptying of the washing bar by the air.
• the system disclosed above could start operation and perform the washing and drying cycle at first light each day under the control of a sensor or of information coming from the solar panels, such as to make the surfaces of the latter completely clean for subsequently receiving the daily solar radiation.
• each washing and drying cycle could be repeated several times and that the water and air could be dispensed to the surfaces of the panels to be cleaned also through different bars provided that they are paired and are movable together to perform a washing and a forced drying action alternately.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Sustainable Development (AREA)
• Sustainable Energy (AREA)
• Thermal Sciences (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Photovoltaic Devices (AREA)
• Cleaning In General (AREA)
• Cleaning By Liquid Or Steam (AREA)
• Vehicle Cleaning, Maintenance, Repair, Refitting, And Outriggers (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=41718942

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (17)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 2009
  • 2009-07-07 IT ITBS2009A000130A patent/IT1396499B1/it active
• 2010
  • 2010-06-25 WO PCT/IT2010/000283 patent/WO2011004411A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2010-06-25 EP EP10747310A patent/EP2452135A2/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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