Efficiency Improvement on Solar Panels
Solar energy is sustainable and cleaner compared to other energy sources.
However, solar panels are prone to dust, birds’ droppings, and other forms of pollution. These deposits usually cause a decrease in the efficiency of solar panels.
It would be best to clean your solar panels often for maximum efficiency, preferably every few weeks.
However, cleaning large solar panel arrays, particularly those mounted on rooftops, is troublesome. It would take hours and a lot of detergents. Detergents are costly and harmful to the environment and can corrode the solar panel framework.
Nanocoatings can reduce the accumulation of pollen, dust, and other particles to keep the panels clean and produce solar energy efficiently.
Based on a research by Next Renewable Generation of South Africa, nanocoating has the following benefits on power generation by solar panels.
1. Hydrophobic & Hydrophilic
The coating repels water and oils and provides an anti-stick surface. This is beneficial as it allows for the solar panels to dry quicker and guarantees that less water is needed to clean and maintain the panels. In addition, this characteristic ensures that the panels remain cleaner for longer as the liquid droplets will carry away pollutants, this is often referred to as the self-cleaning property.
2. Anti-reflective
Nano-coating have anti-reflective features, meaning that they are more effective in absorbing light. This is useful as it reduces the reflection of light and enables better solar panel efficiency in low-lighting conditions. Thus, allowing for more energy generation during early mornings and late evenings.
3. Repel Micro-organisms
The growth of micro-organisms such as moss, mould, and lichen can also be avoided through nano-coating, which can prove favourable in places where there is high humidity and rainfall, further protecting the solar panels from extra damage.
4. Physical protection
Nano-coating acts as an extra physical layer of protection from etching, scratches, and surface degradation. This is beneficial in extending the useful life of the solar panels and ensuring less damage from the external environment.
5. Reduce Operation & Maintenance cost
Nanocoating helps to decrease maintenance costs and reduce cleaning cycles.
Report on the use of SiO2 nanomaterials to improve the energy efficiency of solar panels by several Saudi and Egyptian universities in 2022 (mdpi.com)
According to the obtained experimental results, it was found that the use of SiO2 coating for PV panels results in the better performance of the PV panels. The overall efficiency of the coated panel increased by 15% and 5%, compared to the dusty panel and the uncoated panel which was manually cleaned daily, respectively.