Jodhpur: In a significant achievement, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur (IIT-J) have developed the coating technology for easy and self-cleaning of solar panel surfaces, according to a press statement issued by the institute.
The technology has been sent for patent approval.
These coatings are transparent, scalable, durable and superhydrophobic and reduce dust accumulation on solar panels.
The coatings are capable of self-cleaning with very little water, and also suitable for easy integration with solar panel manufacturing plants, it said.
It is well known that dust and sand deposits on solar panels reduce their performance.
Depending on the location of the solar power plant and the climate in which it is used, solar panels have been found to lose from 10% to 40% of their efficiency due to dust accumulation within a few months, the statement said.
Some of the methods currently used to clean the solar panel are expensive, inefficient, have various practical problems in continuous use and can cause irreversible damage to the solar panel.
Hence, the researchers at IIT Jodhpur took motivation from this real-time problem and developed a self-cleaning coating using superhydrophobic material, it said.
The developed superhydrophobic coating has an excellent self-cleaning property and exhibits no transmittance or power conversion efficiency loss.
Accelerated laboratory-scale tests have shown that the coating has exceptional mechanical and environmental durability.
This coating method is an efficient and easy process to use in existing photovoltaic power generation with simple spray and wipe techniques, the statement said.
Self-cleaning using superhydrophobic coatings does not require much water for cleaning purposes. Thus, it can be used in water-scarce areas with low maintenance costs, it said.
Dr. Ravi K. R., Associate Professor & Head of Department of the Institute’s Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, whose team developed the technology, said the team would like to work closely with industry partners to bring this technology to the PV market and mass-produce it for wider benefit.
