The earth intercepts a large capacity of solar power estimated to be around one hundred and

seventy three terawatts (173,000TW); a unit of power equal to one trillion watts. This amount of
energy is ten thousand times more power than the entire population in the world currently
utilizes.
In recent years, less than two percent (2%) of the world’s electricity has come from solar power
but new inventions are likely to change that with the aim to make it possible for the world to be
majorly reliant on solar power.
Kenya has embarked on a journey to help diversify the electricity generation mix and to reduce
energy costs. One of the solutions to this problem was to come up with new ways to harness
energy and solar energy was amongst the renewable clean energy that was explored.
Working of the photovoltaic cell
A solar cell works through the photovoltaic effect principle which is the generation of electricity
on exposure to sunlight.

These cells are made of semiconductor materials, the most widely used being silicon. They make
use of the concept of photovoltaic effect to generate electricity. “Photo” stands for light and
“Voltaic” stands for electricity. When incident radiation is above a certain frequency and falls on
the panel, energy from the light is transferred to the electrons of silicon (N-type side), and this
results in the electrons breaking free. Once that happens, they start moving because of the
circuit’s electric field and this unidirectional movement of charges produces electricity.

This current, together with the cell's voltage (which is a result of its built-in electric field or
fields), defines the power (or wattage) that the solar cell can produce.
Solar cells (silicon wafers) are arranged and plated together to make standard sizes of solar
panels that are used in industry. These standard sizes of panels generally have 60-72 solar cells
within them

Solar power plants being developed in Kenya to supplement the electricity from the
national grid
 The Garissa solar power plant commissioned in 2018, a fifty megawatt (50MW) solar
farm that contributes about two percent (2%) of the national energy mix. It is the largest
solar farm holding approximately 200,000 solar panels. Working at full efficiency, the
solar farm should be able to power approximately 625,000 homes.
 Moi International Airport in Mombasa which is set to install a 500 KW solar PV system.
The ground mounted solar panels are expected to generate 820,000 KWh per hour.
 Nairobi’s Garden City Mall which set up a 207.8 million Kenya shilling solar carport to
generate 1256 megawatt hours annually from the 3300 solar panels installed projecting
that this would help cut power bills by about Ksh. 31.6 million annually.
 Universities such as Strathmore University have also adopted the use of solar energy.
They have installed 600KW rooftop photovoltaic solar plant, part of which is being sold
to the national grid. The university estimated the cash savings from the project to be
between Ksh 18 million and 24 million shillings annually.
 Kenyatta University switched on the first phase of a Sh 1.7 billion solar plant that will see
the institution generate its own electricity and offload excess power to the national grid.

Assumptions made
 The charge stored in the device’s batteries will be able to power the system for an
entire cleaning cycle.
 The machine will be able to clean solar panels mounted on both even and uneven
ground.

Mechatronic Modules incorporated

a) INTERFACE MODULE

 The LED status lights to indicate lights power on and off on the device.
 The LCD that displays information on both the panels’ voltage and current output as well
as the current environmental conditions surrounding the panels in real time.
 An emergency stop button for use in the case of an emergency. The emergency stop
button is connected in normally closed and when pressed, the circuit is disconnected
hence switching off the machine instantly.
b) ACTUATION MODULE
 Electric motors to run the caterpillar drive track as well as the cleaning brushes.
 Motor drives to enable the back and forth motion of the motors.

c) ASSEMBLY MODULE
 The wheels of the system that enable it to travel through the panels.
 The caterpillar drive track in the system which ensures that there are no exact loads on
the surface of the solar panel hence no negative impact on the panels’ efficiency and no
scratches on the surface.
 The body of the device which will offer structural stability to the system.

d) SOFTWARE MODULE
 This system will have an integrated module with the Atmega 328P-PU microcontroller
and the Arduino software to drive the microcontroller using inputs from the sensors
integrated into the system. Once triggered by the required signal from the sensors the
microcontroller should be able to start running the electric motors.
e) MEASUREMENT MODULE
 A DC Voltage sensor in order to read the voltage generated by the solar panels hence
send a trigger signal to the microcontroller in the case where the voltage recorded by the
sensor is below a set limit.
 A pyranometer which will record solar radiation on flat panels.
 An AC Current sensor employed to read the current generated by the solar panels so as to
send a trigger signal to the microcontroller in the case where the current outputted is
below a set limit.
 A temperature and humidity sensor that will record the current temperature and humidity
levels of the environment of the solar panels.
 An end panel sensor, which is a proximity sensor that will prevent the device from falling
off the string of panels when it reaches the end of the platform.