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Solar panels could be kept free from dust and grime which hampers energy output using a self-cleaning system developed for NASA’s Mars rover robots.
The devices scouring the red planet have sensors which detect dust build-ups and zap the surface of their solar panels with an electrical charge to keep them shiny.
Dr Malay Mazumder, who helped create the technology for NASA, said it could help boost efficiency of large solar power plants, many of which are situated in arid and dusty desert locations.
“A dust layer of 4g per square metre decreases solar power conversion by 40 per cent,” said Dr Mazumder, from Boston University.
“In Arizona, dust is deposited each month at over four times that amount. Deposition rates are even higher in Australia, the Middle East, and India.”
The technology, used on the Mars rovers since they landed on the planet in 2004, involves coating the solar panel surface with electrodes of Indium tin oxide, a transparent, electrically-sensitive material.
Sensors monitor dust levels on the surface of the panel and energise the material when dust concentration reaches a critical level.
Electrodes on the panels then produce a cascading wave of electrostatic pulses, which shake off the dust leaving them clean and more energy efficient.
Dr Mazumder said the process removes about 90 per cent of dust in two minutes and uses only a small amount of the electricity generated by the panel for cleaning operations.
The research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

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This entry was posted on 星期二, 八月 24th, 2010 at 2:26 下午 and is filed under Global. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.