DESIGN OF SOLAR PANELS DIRT MONITORING AND

CLEANING ROBOT

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

YAKESH S
ARAVINDAN P
GOPINATH P
ELUMALAI M

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING

IN

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

MAILAM ENGINEERING COLLEGE, MAILAM

ANNA UNIVERSITY: CHENNAI 600 025

MAY 2024
 ANNA UNIVERSITY: CHENNAI 600 025

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report “DESIGN OF SOLAR PANELS DIRT

MONITORING AND CLEANING ROBOT” is the Bonafide work of
“YAKESH S, ARAVINDAN P, ELUMALAI M, GOPINATH P” who
carried out the project work under my supervision.

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE

Dr.S.VANDAARKUZHALI, M.Tech.,Ph.D., Mr.V.PUGAZHENTHI, M.E.,(Ph.D).,

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR

Professor, Assistant Professor,

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Mailam Engineering College, Mailam Engineering College,
Mailam – 604 304. Mailam – 604 304.

Submitted for the Project work viva voce examination is held on

.

INTERNAL EXAMINER EXTERNAL EXAMINER

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We take immense pleasure in thanking our honorable Chairman and

Managing Director, Shri.M.DHANASEKARAN, M.A., M. Ed., D.Ag.,
D.F.T., and our honorable secretary Dr.K.NARYANASAMY, M.B.B.S,
MBA, MS., and our honorable Treasurer Mr.D.RAJARAJAN, MBA, for
providing me with an environment to complete my project successfully.
We express our sincere thanks to our beloved internal guide of this
project Mr.V.PUGAZHENTHI, M.E.,(Ph.D)., and project in charge
Mr.V.PUGAZHENTHI, M.E.,(Ph.D)., Assistant Professor for his valuable
guidance and useful suggestions in the entire Course, which help me in
completing the project work in time.
We wish to express our sincere thanks to
Dr.S.VANDAARKUZHALI M.Tech., Ph.D., Head of the Department,
Mechanical Engineering, Mailam Engineering College for being an
inspiration and enabling us to use sophisticated technological in our project
work.
We express our deed gratitude to Dr.R.RAJAPPAN, ME., Ph.D.,
Principal, Mailam Engineering College for his kind permission to work on this
project and providing facilities for the effective execution of our project.
We extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Naan Mudhalvan scheme and
Anna University for their invaluable support and resources, which were
instrumental in the successful completion of this project.
We extend our sincere thanks to all teaching and non-teaching staff
that helped us during the course of project. We also express our sincere thanks
to our parents for their moral support and constant encouragement throughout
the project.
ABSTRACT

The advancement in technology to manage energy generation using solar

panels has proved vital for increased reliability and reduced cost. Solar panels
emit no pollution while producing electricity as a renewable energy source.
However, the solar panel is adversely affected by dirt, a major environmental
factor affecting energy production. The intensity of light falling on the solar panel
is reduced when dirt accumulates on the surface. This, in turn, lowers the output
of electrical energy generated by the solar panel. Since cleansing the solar panel is
essential, constant monitoring and evaluation of these processes are necessary to
optimize them. To address the need for enhancing the efficiency and harnessing
the full potential of solar energy systems, this research aims to investigate
mitigating solar energy losses, thereby contributing to the global transition
towards renewable energy. A major impediment to solar panel efficiency is
soiling, a phenomenon that causes significant decline in performance. This review
sheds light on the pronounced impact of soiling, particularly emphasizing the
exacerbated effects in arid and semi-arid regions, where solar irradiance is
abundant, and the untapped solar energy potential is immense.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

ABSTRACT

LIST OF FIGURES

01 INTRODUCTION 01
02 LITERATURE REVIEW 03
03 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 05

3.1 INTRODUCTION 05
3.2 OBJECTIVES 05
3.3 METHODOLOGY 05
3.4 COMPONENTS 06
3.5 EXPECTED OUTCOMES 06
3.6 IMPACT 07
3.7 FUTURE DIRECTIONS 07
04 HARDWARE DESCRIPTION 08
4.1 SOLAR PANEL 08
4.2 NODE
MICRO-CONTROLLER 09
4.3 MOTOR DRIVER 10
4.4 DC-MOTOR 11
 4.5 CLEANING MECHANISM 12
05 DESIGN CONTROL 13
5.1 CONTROL OBJECTIVES 13
5.2 CONTROL COMPONENTS 13
5.3 TESTING AND VALIDATION 14
5.4 USER INTERFACE AND
INTERACTION 14
5.5 MAINTENANCE 14

06 APPLICATION AND CODING 15

6.1 APPLICATION 15
6.2 CODE 16
07 HARDWARE PROTOTYPE
AND CIRCUIT 20
7.1 HARDWARE PROTOTYPE 20
7.2 CIRCUIT 22
08 TESTING & RESULT 23
5.1 TESTING OBJECTIVES 23
5.2 FIELD TESTING 23
5.3 TESTING RESULT 24
5.4 ANALYSIS 25
CONCLUSION 26
REFERENCES 28
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIG NO. DESCRIPTON PAGE NO.

1.1 SOLAR PANELS 01
4.1 SOLAR PANEL 08
4.2 NODE MCU 10
4.3 L298N MOTOR DRIVER 10
4.4 L298N BLOCK DIAGRAM 11
4.5 BRUSH FOR CLEANING 12
6.1 BLYNK APPLICATION 15
7.1 HARDWARE PROTOTYPE 20
7.2 HARDWARE PROTOTYPE WHEN
CLEANING
7.3 CIRCUIT CONNECTION 22
8.1 SOLAR PANEL BEFORE AND AFTER
CLEANING
8.2 SOLAR PANEL BEFORE AND AFTER
CLEANING
8.3 RESULT GRAPH RESPECTIVE TO EFFICIENCY 24
8.4 RESULT GRAPH RESPECTIVE TO
TEMPERATURE 25
1