First Robot for Maintenance of Solar Systems in Serbia Presented – How Product of Company Energy Support Services Reduces Losses and Increases Profit (PHOTO)

Many owners of photovoltaic power plants do not know that, in the long term, the filthiness of the panels can affect the production, so after a few years, they start being dissatisfied with the operations of the power plants due to the reduced production. That’s where SolarROBOT pro comes into picture, the first robot for the maintenance of solar systems in Serbia by Energy Support Services.

The robot has several advantages, and the most important one concerns security, Nemanja Panelic, the founder and CEO of Energy Support Services, says for eKapija.

– The robot eliminates the possibility of the person who used to be in charge of maintenance falling off the roof. In addition to that, there is no risk of an electric shock if the installations of the rooftop solar power plant are damaged. Also, due to the lack of knowledge, people walk on the panels, thereby damaging them permanently, which is not possible in the case of a robot, because it is designed to evenly distribute its weight. It is important to note that the technology used so far, which entails hand washing with brushes, involved various chemical products which can corrode the frame of a panel or damage the insulation with time. Our robot uses no chemical products and “takes care” of the environment that way. Instead, it uses exclusively osmosis-processed water which we generate on the spot, or regular drinking water after it is tested for suitability for our purposes – explains Pantelic.

The recommendation, he adds, is for the solar panels to be cleaned in detail twice a year, at the beginning and toward the end of the season, that is, in the spring and late in the autumn.

– This enables the production of “green” kilowatt-hours as soon as possible, at the beginning of the year, and the optimal use of the sunlight in winter, when the days are short and cloudy. Of course, depending on the environment in which the power plant is located, the degree of filthiness is different, so the losses are different. If the power plant is located in an industrial zone, near an earthen road or a similar source of dust, a more regular washing treatment is needed, where, in agreement with the client, we can come up with a plan for periodic washing or form a long-term contract on such a service. Soon, along with these services, we will be able to offer our client a device for measuring the degree of filthiness of the panels, where they will be able to monitor the situation, if they are not visually available, if they are on the roof, so, through joint monitoring, we will able to monitor the percentage of the filthiness of the power plant – our interviewee says.

He points out that it’s interesting that many owners of photovoltaic power plants did not expect that, in the long term, the filthiness could have an impact on the power plant’s production rate and lead to direct losses due to it.

– That is why many owners are not satisfied with the operations of their power plants after three to four years due to the reduced production rate, where even some technical problems can occur after a certain amount of time. It is also interesting, but also expected, for us to get queries and requests for our services only a few days after the founding of the company. The constant increase in the prices of electrical energy means that each lost kilowatt-hour due to the filthiness is expensive, so power plant owners increasingly realize that the cleanness of the power plant has a direct impact on their income – he adds.

Thermal vision checks along with maintenance

The idea of Energy Support Services, as our interviewee explains, was primarily to provide the service of the maintenance of photovoltaic power plants, which entailed the washing of the surface of the photovoltaic panels with the help of a specialized robot, but they expanded their services to include thermal vision checks of the panels from the air with the help of a drone, thermal vision checks of the contacts within the switchboards of the solar power plant, the testing and checking of the protective elements of the solar power plant, as well as the measuring and testing of the insultation, voltage and strings of the solar power plant.

– This kind of treatment is necessary in order to maintain the planned production rate of the solar power plant and to prevent potential malfunctions and damages that can occur due to the ageing of the insulation, the loosening of the contact points and similar problems. In addition to safe and secure operations of the power plant, it will truly realize the planned production of electrical energy and thereby help the owners achieve the planned profit, which is why they decided to make this kind of investments. That way, with our service, we are also helping the owner of the solar power plant, as well as the builder of the solar power plant, to maintain the quality of their construction services – says Pantelic.

Capacity expansion

Pantelic points out that they have received numerous queries in a short amount of time.

– Our estimates were similar, so we were ready for the expansion of the capacities and investments in further development, so as to be able to meet all the requests at the beginning of the season and so that our clients would not have to wait for their turn. Certainly, the priority is to provide a good, thorough service, instead of a high amount of work. The solar market in Serbia develops with each day and this kind of service has become necessary, so our development will follow the needs of the market and thereby help green energy products to stay on their path, be efficient and realize the targeted savings, which is crucial considering the trend of the increase of the price of electrical energy, which is inevitable in the near future – points out our interviewee.

I. Zikic

Energy Support Services d.o.o. Beograd-Čukarica

Nemanja Pantelić

SolarROBOT pro

cleaning of solar panels

maintenance of solar panels

robot for cleaning of solar power plants