Exosun rolls out robotic solar panel cleaner

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To ensure that PV production is optimal, the equation of soiling vs. cleaning frequency and costs needs to be managed closely. The new cost-effective robotic solution avoids acquisition and transportation of expensive distilled water in remote locations, and performs at a cleaning rate up to 5 MWp cleaned in eight hours by two operators.

The robot cleans panels in the stow position, operating under contained battery power that lasts for four hours per battery, with two batteries configured. The batteries are 24Vcc 20Ah lithium iron phosphate technology, with a two hour charge time and a 2,000 cycle life time.

The robot’s caterpillar drive ensures there are no specific loads on the panel surface and that there is no impact on panel efficiency or surface integrity. The unit will work at temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius.

The robot is designed to clean modules with frames, glass-glass modules, and thin film modules. The modules have been tested by outside agencies for IV curve, electroluminescent test, and thermal imaging.

At the same time, Exosun unveiled Discover ExoDesigner, a free AutoCAD add-on application to easily design PV plant and Exosun’s cleaning robot to reduce soft costs around the project and increase plant performance.

ExoDesigner enables engineering teams to design the layout of PV plants harvesting the best from tracker technology. This tool is incorporated into the existing AutoCAD, enabling users to continue working on their existing plant layouts or create new ones.

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