What is a solar panel cleaning tractor?
A solar panel cleaning tractor refers to a tractor that is mounted with a hydraulically operated arm that helps in cleaning solar panels in a solar farm with a fast, accurate, water efficient and cost-effective manner as compared to traditional cleaning methods of solar panels. This is the next automation-based cleaning equipment that has proven to be extremely advantageous for the cleaning of large-scaled solar panels or solar farms.
The hydraulically operated solar panel cleaning arm allows for better control and ease of use in cleaning by reducing the cleaning cycle time and increasing the optimal usage of water. The solar panel cleaning tractor can complete in 5 days what earlier used to take more than a month. It can achieve this as well as decrease the water usage from over 2,00,000 liters of water to about 80,000 liters of water for the same size of the solar farm.
Components of the cleaning system in a solar panel cleaning tractor:
The actual cleaning system in the tractor’s arm has 3 main components namely, the brush system, the water system and the hydraulic system.
- The hydraulic system helps in controlling the cleaning systems swivel mechanism and the rotation of the brush. It also helps in controlling the cleaning height based on the inclinations of the solar panels. The hydraulic arm helps the cleaning system reach all corners of the solar panel in a single swipe. This can not be achieved by the cleaning robots. Also, unlike the cleaning robots there is no need to dismantle the systems the following day.
The cleaning process requires no external energy as it can work based off the tractors Power take off driven by a customized gearbox. - The water system contains a water storage tank that helps in carrying water along with the tractor itself. While the actual cleaning process takes place, a sprinkler system is placed near a rotating brush that sprays water on the surface of the solar panels. The damp cleaning allows for a more efficient cleaning process as compared to a dry mode of cleaning since any sticky particles of waste can not be removed with the dry mode of cleaning.
The water system plays a major role in reducing the water consumption in the cleaning process as the water is sprayed in a targeted manner and the wastage is minimum. In traditional methods of cleaning, water is just poured randomly and the wastage is much more. - The brush system defines the maintenance on the face of the solar panel by ensuring that no scratches are formed due to harsh cleaning. A soft bristle brush is used to ensure that all the sticky wastes such as bird droppings are cleaned without permanently damaging the surface of the solar panels. The brush is generally replaceable and can be rotated up to 270 degrees thus help in cleaning all type of inclination angles.
The cleaning system is mounted externally on the tractor and can easily be folded on the side of the vehicle and be transported easily. Kit can also be customized for various lengths of the solar panel.