Design and Prototyping of an Automatic Solar Panel Cleaner Based on Arduino
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Abstract
This research paper presents the design and construction of an automatic solar panel cleaner on Arduino. Since dust is an important factor affecting the efficiency of the cell panel, regular washing of the cell panel is necessary for the photovoltaic system to increase its efficiency of the system. This research was tested using an 80 W monocrystalline panel and an Arduino washing control. It is easy to use and cheap to allow the control of the panel to achieve the desired results. In collecting the experimental results, the relationship between the electric power before and after cleaning the panel was collected. In the first case, the solar panel was cleaned every 1 hour. The results showed that the output power of the washed and unwashed panels is approximately the same. Due to too frequent a wash control timer, the dust accumulation is not enough to see the change in power output. Case 2, the solar panel washing time is controlled every 3 months. The results showed that after 3 months of solar panel cleaning intervals, the amount of dust accumulated was about 2.5 grams per square meter. The power was greatly reduced. When cleaning the panel, results in higher power output. Then calculate the efficiency of the panel system increased by automatic panel washing. It was concluded that the calculated efficiency of the panel system was increased to 12.11%.
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