{"id":49,"date":"2020-01-09T14:23:50","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T19:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/?page_id=49"},"modified":"2020-04-02T22:57:21","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T02:57:21","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Problem<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Photovoltaic (PV) plants and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) installations suffer losses in output power\u00a0due to the natural deposition of dust on the\u00a0solar collectors’\u00a0surface,\u00a0a phenomenon termed as “soiling”. Soiling losses can amount to 5 to\u00a070%\u00a0loss\u00a0of the annual power output unless the modules are cleaned frequently. Fresh water needed for cleaning<\/span>\u00a0solar collectors\u00a0of utility-scale solar plants can cause a major negative impact in many areas of the world suffering from water scarcity. If solar power is to grow to the terra-watt level capacity as predicted, there is not enough fresh water available in semi-arid and desert areas of the world to clean the solar collectors.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The EDS<\/h3>\n

The Electrodynamic Screen (EDS) film\u00a0consists of interdigitated, parallel electrodes in a 3-phase design that when activated by pulsed voltages<\/span> generates a traveling electric field, which charges and sweeps the dust particles from the module surface, with no moving parts or water\u00a0requirement.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Schematic diagram of the EDS Film showing: a) the three phase design; b) dust removal process upon activation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When activated for\u00a0under\u00a0two minutes, the EDS film can restore the output power of a PV panel to over 95% of its original power output.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • EDS films can be integrated directly onto the front optical surface of a PV module or retrofitted in a solar field.<\/li>\n
  • Energy requirement for cleaning is small, less than 0.02 W\/m2<\/sup>\/cleaning cycle.<\/li>\n
  • EDS film prototypes are screen printed in the lab and\/or produced using flexographic printing at Eastman Kodak Company using their existing roll-to-roll manufacturing plant.<\/li>\n
  • The EDS films’ electrodes are protected by a transparent dielectric film that acts as the top surface.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \"\"
    Left: EDS Film prototype integrated with a solar cell; Right: EDS Film prototype integrated on optical surface of a mirror.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Integration with PV<\/strong><\/h3>\n
    \"\"
    The EDS Film integrated on the top surface of a photovoltaic (PV) module (zoom in picture shows the electrodes of the EDS Film).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    The EDS film can be integrated as a component of a PV module during initial fabrication. The mechanical flexibility of the EDS film also enables after-market retrofitting. Integration of the EDS has multiple benefits.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Increase the power output by allowing frequent, on demand cleanings.<\/li>\n
    • Reduce the O&M cost of operating a solar plant by mitigating soiling losses<\/li>\n
    • Minimize consumption of water<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      The Problem Photovoltaic (PV) plants and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) installations suffer losses in output power\u00a0due to the natural deposition of dust on the\u00a0solar collectors’\u00a0surface,\u00a0a phenomenon termed as “soiling”. Soiling losses can amount to 5 to\u00a070%\u00a0loss\u00a0of the annual power output unless the modules are cleaned frequently. Fresh water needed for cleaning\u00a0solar collectors\u00a0of utility-scale solar plants […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16960,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16960"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49\/revisions\/174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/eds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}