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Re cleaning, they have a cute little robot that you can see on this page: https://www.erthos.com/energyservices https://www.erthos.com/energyservices It's al
by luhn 4y ago
Re cleaning, they have a cute little robot that you can see on this page: https://www.erthos.com/energyservices https://www.erthos.com/energyservices It's also visible in the photo in the article.
- thinkmcfly 4y agoThey should fix the wheel spacing so it rolls on the metal frame and doesn't scuff up the edge of the panels
- happyopossum 4y ago> They should fix the wheel spacing Sounds like they optimized it for their use case: "The load of the robot is distributed almost entirely to the module frames rather than the glass module"
- nine_k 4y agoThe robot is cute! I wonder what happens after a major rain though. I suppose the panels are weatherproof. But they lie directly on the ground, and I did not notice any mention of a drainage system. The panels will eventually sag under load from rainwater, preventing it from flowing off them. They mention that their installation can withstand a hurricane. I understand how it works for the wind load, but every hurricane I witnessed brought a lot of rain. EDIT: Apparently they embrace flooding, and say that their panels and connectors can withstand being submerged in water. That's the spirit.
- robocat 4y agoI wonder how they manage drainage and surface flooding? Image of robot on panels: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3b0818_1667facfc56e475e8fda07a6c6189015~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_530,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/3b0818_1667facfc56e475e8fda07a6c6189015~mv2.jpg https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3b0818_1667facfc56e475e8f... The image also seems to show water damage in the corner of the closest panel. At a guess, they target areas without heavy rainfall, and fast draining soils. I didn’t see any drainage works in the video https://vimeo.com/556421759 https://vimeo.com/556421759, nor did my google-fu help me find anything where they address the issue. Edit: from https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/erthos-rakes-in-17m-to-install-solar-panels-directly-on-the-ground https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/erthos-rakes-in-1... How do the installations perform in the rain and snow? “Our hydrology report proves that an Erthos plant is almost the same as native soils with respect to accumulated water depth and velocity in rainstorms. All of our designs include professional civil design that includes water runoff management and containment basins as per the jurisdiction’s application of building code and other local requirements.” What about flooding? “The glass/ glass modules and the connectors we specify are all rated for submersion, so flooding is not a catastrophic event in case it does occur.”
- maxerickson 4y agoA site graded to slightly angle towards the sun would also keep the panels drained.
- latchkey 4y agoBlemishes on solar panels aren't necessarily bad or have a huge effect on generation or durability. These could also be previously used panels in the image, which are often sold at enough of a discount to offset the loss in power generation.
- pugworthy 4y agoWish I'd had that at Burning Man this year. Getting dust off a 200 panel array was no fun job...
- hn_throwaway_99 4y agoThanks for posting that! Made me realize that when all the panels are laid over a huge area in essentially the same plane that it must be so much easier and cheaper to clean. Just put this robot on it and let it go, roomba-style (OK, not exactly roomba-style of going over the same spot 50 times, but you get the idea). Seems like it would be a lot cheaper than what would be needed to keep rack-mounted systems clean.
- Maursault 4y ago> Re cleaning, they have a cute little robot Ever cleaned dried bird droppings off a windshield? I'd be pretty surprised if solar-farm Roomba was up to it.
- geysersam 4y agoAny solar installation will face that problem though
- Maursault 4y agoMy point only concerned the robot. Other solar installations won't have a tiny self-driving Zamboni that's ineffective at cleaning bird poo and is bound to be stolen. They use renewable and cost-effective elbow grease instead.
- pulvinar 4y agoI can't see how bird poo could be a problem here: there's no food, nesting site, nor high spot to hang out anywhere near it. Theft could be a problem, though I'd assume they'd have some sort of protection hidden on it.
- ClumsyPilot 4y ago> won't have a tiny self-driving Zamboni that's ineffective at cleaning bird poo and is bound to be stolen Why do you think it's ineffective, they could have a pressure washer inside that thing
- Maursault 4y ago> Why do you think it's ineffective, It appears too small to have enough mass to use gravity to be able to do a thing with dried guano. Also, because it has wheels, it gives me the impression that it moves along and does whatever cleaning its capable of as it goes rather than lingering anywhere to thoroughly clean one spot. > they could have a pressure washer inside that thing How big of a water tank do you think?
- ElijahLynn 4y agoThanks, I was wondering how they were going to keep it clean, and the linked article doesn't have the word "clean" in it at all, so it could be improved by discussing more about that. I also see now that the little robot is in the pic in the linked article too.
- leobg 4y agoCool. I can see myself using a Scooba. I’m serious.