An Efficient Power Management Approach for Self-Cleaning Solar Panels with Integrated Electrodynamic Screens

-Electrodynamic screens (EDS) have proved to be an efficient method for dust removal from a variety of surfaces including photovoltaic (PV) cells. An EDS is composed of a series of parallel electrodes on a substrate that is energized by a three phase high-voltage amplifier. This technology would be critical for deployment of PV arrays in remote, dusty atmospheres such as the surface of mars. As dust collects on PV cells, the amount of light hitting the surface is decreased, thus decreasing the overall power output. It is not feasible to use moving parts in high-dust areas due to the damaging effects dust has on joints, as replacing these joints is often impossible in the many remote regions where PV arrays are deployed. EDS are an ideal dust mitigation technology for these conditions, as it has no moving parts. A downfall of an EDS is that it requires a high-voltage external power source for its operation, but the EDS can be made self-sustainable with the power output from the PV cell itself. Our goal is to develop an experimental system that incorporates a transparent EDS with a PV array as its power source, allowing us to study the total efficiency of a PV power system with an EDS for dust removal.