Solar panels are under serious threat from a space phenomenon that could kill them. In addition to products poised to retire them, such as the first wind wall, they now have a new enemy to contend with. These devices are becoming increasingly popular worldwide. They use the sun’s energy to create electricity, a renewable energy that contributes to the reduction of harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Solar panels are also a smart way to lower electricity bills and help protect the environment. They use the sun’s energy to produce electricity. Photovoltaic panels are composed of solar cells that convert sunlight directly into wind energy. The benefits of their use are numerous and they can be used in various sectors. However, they are endangered by the worst problem.
Solar panels are in serious trouble because of this phenomenon: There’s global warning
Dust is the worst enemy of solar panels and the solution could lie in electromagnetic waves. With minimal power consumption, this transparent coating achieves more than 95% cleanliness in solar panels affected by dust and other particles. One of the biggest challenges facing the PV industry is performance.
Different companies are already testing new combinations of silicon and perovskite, microscopic algae, flexible materials and new technologies to make panels more efficient. Extreme quantum efficiency is also being pushed with the same goal: to generate more electricity. The other challenge is cleaning the outermost layer of solar panels. There are some unavoidable and undeniable enemies such as snow.
When a panel is clogged, it does not perform. However, snow is not a problem in many areas of the world, but one thing that happens everywhere is dusting. Cleaning solar panels is a challenge, but one company has done research to find a solution to this problem: an electrodynamic screen that eradicates dust from solar panels.
That dust is one of the worst enemies of solar panels has already been proven by several studies that show that a dirty panel performs worse than one in optimal condition. In 2016, a study published in Science Direct compared the performance of a panel that was clogged with dust with one that was cleaned daily for five months.
Solar panels’ worst enemy revealed: It comes from the space, and it could worse
The former was 29.76% less efficient than the latter. The researchers then argued that dust tended to accumulate in certain areas and that permanent effects could result. Other studies tested the average incident solar radiation, with losses of 1% resulting in 8-15% lower efficiency.
Cleaning them with a hose may be part of the solution, but the problem arises when the water does not reach certain areas where they are installed or directly on the roof of a house. There are companies that have created robots to eradicate the problem and others that clean the devices with a tractor armed with a tank and a roller.
Along the same lines, the Boston University-derived startup Sol Clarity has been working for some time on a panel cleaning system that uses an additional electrodynamic layer. This is a thin transparent layer that works with a small electrical charge. The system is called Electrodynamic Screen (or EDS). For now, the company must continue to test the system and secure funding.
Ultimately, the problem that could endanger solar panels on the planet is dust. While some companies are looking for ways to solve this problem, Japan has come up with a new invention that takes us away from conventional solar panels.
