Rainwater harvesting and wastewater recycling for an alternative solar panel cleaning

Abstract

The objective of this study is to develop and evaluate a sustainable, low-cost cleaning system for photovoltaic (PV) solar panels using harvested rainwater and recycled wastewater. The proposed method involves a pop-up type sprinkler system installed in a solar power plant in Edirne, T & uuml;rkiye. Cleaning experiments were conducted four weeks with varying schedules to assess the impact of cleaning frequency and duration on energy output. Results showed that compared to uncleaned PV arrays, energy output increased by 1.13 %-3.38 %, with the highest gain observed during twice-daily 10-min cleanings at sunrise and sunset. The cleaned system produced a total of 2634 kWh, compared to 2574 kWh from the uncleaned system. The system recovered approximately 83 % of cleaning water, demonstrating both water and energy efficiency. This research fills a gap in the literature by integrating rainwater harvesting with automated PV cleaning, offering a practical solution to enhance solar plant performance in water-scarce regions.