JP6656732B2 - Photovoltaic module surface contamination measurement device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the degree of contamination of the surface of a photovoltaic module, and more particularly, to detecting a change in resistance on the surface of a photovoltaic module to efficiently measure the degree of contamination stacked on the surface of the module, and The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the degree of contamination of the surface of a photovoltaic cell module, which can ensure a proper cleaning cycle of the module during photovoltaic power generation.

In recent years, resource shortages have occurred due to the depletion of existing energy resources such as oil and coal, and interest in new and renewable energy alternatives has increased. The photovoltaic power generation technology that is being produced has attracted attention.

Generally, photovoltaic power generation technology is installed in various types of facilities that require electrical energy, such as factories and homes, as well as photovoltaic power plants. 2. Description of the Related Art Solar cells that generate power using a semiconductor element exhibiting a power effect are widely used.

Here, the solar cell is a solar cell in which a plurality of cells having a power generation amount of about 1.5 W as a minimum unit for generating electricity are connected in series or in parallel to output electricity usable in daily life. Used as a module form.

However, in the case of a photovoltaic module, the surface is covered with tempered glass, static electricity occurs on the surface, and dust is constantly accumulated due to scattered dust, so the surface of the photovoltaic module for receiving sunlight is contaminated. As a result, there is a problem that an efficiency reduction phenomenon occurs in which the power generation amount of the solar cell module is reduced to about 10 to 15%.

As a conventional technique disclosed in order to solve such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a base plate provided at an upper end of a column, and an optical sensor provided on the base plate and measuring external illuminance. And, a solar cell plate is attached on the front surface, the back surface is formed of a light transmissive material, and one end is provided on the periphery of the base plate so as to be expanded or folded by a rotating shaft, A plurality of power generation panels arranged along the periphery, a motor connected to a rotation axis of the power generation panel to expand or fold the power generation panel, and a power source output from the solar cells of the power generation panel Rechargeable battery, and a light emitting unit that emits light by a power supply supplied from the rechargeable battery, and a control unit that controls charging and discharging of the motor and the rechargeable battery by illuminance measured by the optical sensor. Comprising a plurality of When the panel is folded, the side edges adhere to each other to prevent the penetration of moisture and dust that contaminate the surface of the solar cell, thereby preventing the power generation efficiency of the solar cell from decreasing. BACKGROUND ART A structure for preventing contamination of a battery is known.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, the structure of the product is complicated because the solar cell module is simply opened and closed as a whole, and the cost for manufacturing and installing the product is high, and the cost of the solar power plant is high. As described above, it is difficult to apply the method to a place where a large amount of electricity is required, cannot be applied to a photovoltaic module already installed, and is ineffective.

Further, in the case of the above-described conventional technology, since the structure is expanded or folded by the illuminance of the external environment, only by temporarily preventing the solar cell module from being contaminated only in the folded state of the device, the sunlight can be prevented. In the power generation process, the solar cell module is still exposed to contaminants such as dust, and the surface contamination of the photovoltaic module cannot be cut off. As a result, the power generation efficiency of the photovoltaic module decreases with time.

For this reason, in order to maintain the power generation efficiency of the solar cell module, a cleaning operation for periodically cleaning the surface of the solar cell module is indispensable, and in order for the administrator to memorize the periodic cleaning operation. There is a need for a measuring device that can detect the degree of contamination on the surface of a solar cell module.

Republic of Korea Registered Patent No. 1126339

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to simplify the structure by configuring a photovoltaic module to detect a change in electric resistance and measure the degree of contamination by a contamination element. A device for measuring the degree of contamination of the surface of a photovoltaic module, which can be elastically applied to the photovoltaic module, stores the optimal cleaning work cycle, increases the service life of the equipment, and enhances the photovoltaic power generation efficiency. Is to provide.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a solar cell module surface contamination degree measuring apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a glass substrate provided so as to be able to adhere to the surface of a solar cell module, and coated on one surface of the glass substrate. A reaction coat layer formed to have a structure in which contaminants can be stacked on the surface thereof and formed to generate a resistance change due to contact with the contaminants; and a reaction change signal transmitted to the reaction coat layer, and the reaction change signal is transmitted. A signal processor that performs arithmetic processing on the signal of the coat layer, measures a change in resistance value from a change in resistance due to lamination of contaminants, and outputs a determination signal indicating the presence or absence of contamination.

The reaction coat layer is composed of a metal oxide layer formed of an oxide so that a resistance change due to a physical and chemical reaction occurs from a stack of contaminants.

A first connection wiring formed on the upper surface of the glass substrate with the reaction coat layer interposed therebetween, and using silver (Ag) to form an electrode layer and electrically connecting the electrode layer and the signal processor. Having.

The metal oxide layer has a thickness of 1 to 10 μm.

Further, the reaction coat layer may be formed of a metal conductive layer formed of an electrically conductive metal such that a resistance change due to a contact reaction of the non-conductive particles occurs from the stack of contaminants.

The metal conductive layer includes a first metal thin film layer coated on an upper surface of the glass substrate, a graphite conductive layer provided on an upper surface of the first metal thin film layer, and a first metal thin film layer provided on an upper surface of the graphite conductive layer. And a lamination groove that penetrates from the second metal thin film layer to the graphite conduction layer and guides contaminants to be laminated inside the metal conduction layer. I do.

The first metal thin film layer and the second metal thin film layer are formed to a thickness of 0.5 to 2 μm and are made of aluminum metal.

There are second connection wires derived from the first metal thin film layer and the second metal thin film layer, respectively, and electrically connected to the signal processor.

The signal processor is a computing unit that computes and measures a resistance value from a signal of the reaction coat layer, a display unit that outputs a resistance value measured by the computing unit, and a resistance value measured by the computing unit. A signal determination unit for determining whether there is a change, a comparison determination unit that determines the presence or absence of contamination by comparing the resistance value measured by the calculation unit with a set reference resistance value, and a determination signal of the comparison determination unit. LED blinking part that blinks so as to display the result accordingly.

Further, the present invention can communicate with a central server of a solar power plant, but can transmit a determination signal measured by the signal processor to the central server via a computer communication network, The apparatus may further include a remote control communication unit provided to be able to receive a control signal of the central server for measuring the degree of contamination of the signal processor via a computer communication network.

According to the present invention, after detecting a change in electric resistance due to contact with a contaminant, the presence or absence of contamination is determined based on the amount of change in the resistance value, thereby informing the optimum cleaning cycle and storing the necessity of the cleaning operation. The periodic cleaning operation can keep the solar cell module clean, extend the performance and life of the equipment, increase the power generation efficiency of the solar cell module, and improve the added value of energy generation.

In addition, by using a simple structure including a reaction coat layer and a signal processor together with a glass substrate that can be attached to the surface of a solar cell module, it is possible to reduce product manufacturing and equipment costs and improve price competitiveness. It can be flexibly applied to a pre-designed solar cell module, and can improve the effectiveness of the product.

Furthermore, by configuring the remote control communication unit so that it can communicate with the central server of the photovoltaic power plant, the degree of contamination of the array-type photovoltaic module can be collectively measured, and maintenance and management are extremely easy and quick. Measurement processing.

It is a schematic structure figure showing one example of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of a reaction coat layer in one embodiment according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a first embodiment of a reaction coat layer in one embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the reaction coat layer in one embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing a second embodiment of the reaction coat layer in one embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment according to the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a working process of a signal processor according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another embodiment according to the present invention.

The present invention provides a structure in which a glass substrate provided so as to be adhered to the surface of a solar cell module, and a structure coated on one surface of the glass substrate, on one surface of which a contaminant can be laminated, and a resistance change due to contact with the contaminant A reaction coat layer formed so as to generate a resistance change signal, which is connected to the reaction coat layer, a signal of the resistance change is transmitted, the signal of the reaction coat layer is arithmetically processed, and the resistance value is calculated from the resistance change due to the contaminant lamination. The technical configuration is characterized by an apparatus for measuring the degree of contamination of the surface of a photovoltaic module, comprising: a signal processor that outputs a determination signal indicating the presence or absence of contamination after measuring the amount of change.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

However, the embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and it should not be construed that the scope of the present invention is limited to the embodiments described later. The embodiments of the present invention are provided so that those skilled in the art can understand the present invention in an understandable manner, and the shapes of the illustrated elements emphasize a clearer description. It is exemplarily shown in order to do so.

First, one embodiment of the apparatus for measuring the degree of contamination of the surface of a photovoltaic cell module according to the present invention comprises a glass substrate 10, a reaction coat layer 20, and a signal processor 30, as shown in FIG.

The glass substrate 10 is formed in a plate shape having a predetermined thickness, and all the upper and lower surfaces are formed as flat planes.

The glass substrate 10 is positioned so that one surface of the glass substrate 10 is in surface contact with the surface of the photovoltaic module M to be measured for measuring the degree of contamination.

The glass substrate 10 may be configured to be provided so as to be attachable to the surface of the solar cell module M. That is, the glass substrate 10 maintains the state of being simply placed on the solar cell module M in contact with the glass substrate 10 or adheres the glass substrate 10 so that a predetermined adhesive force acts on the surface of the solar cell module M. It is composed.

The reaction coat layer 20 has a structure in which contaminants can be stacked on one surface, and is formed by coding on one surface of the glass substrate 10.

Throughout the specification, contaminants refer to particles of 2.5-10 μm size having a wide variety of dust forms in the air. For example, ground ion substances (SiO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , FeO, Fe ₂ O ₃ , CaO, K ₂ O, TiO ₂ ), and a secondary ion mass (NH ₄ NO ₃ , (NH ₄ ) ₂ SO ₄ ), meaning carbon particles and the like by combustion.

The reaction coat layer 20 performs a function of causing a change in resistance due to contact with a contaminant deposited on one surface.

The reaction coat layer 20 may be configured using any material of an oxide and an electrically conductive metal.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first embodiment of the reaction coat layer 20 includes a metal oxide layer 20a formed on the glass substrate 10 using an oxide.

The metal oxide layer 20a is formed such that a change in resistance due to a physical and chemical reaction occurs from contact with contaminants deposited on one surface. That is, the physical change and the chemical reaction that occur between the metal oxide layer 20a and the contaminants stacked are formed so that the amount of resistance change can be derived.

As an oxide applicable to the metal oxide layer 20a, copper oxide (CuO), titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), zinc oxide (ZnO), or the like is used.

The metal oxide layer 20a may be formed with a thickness of 1 to 10 μm as needed.

An electrode layer 21 is formed between the upper surface of the glass substrate 10 and the metal oxide layer 20a that is the reaction coat layer 20. That is, it is formed on the upper surface of the glass substrate 10 with the metal oxide layer 20a interposed therebetween, and includes two electrode layers 21 spaced apart from each other in the lateral direction.

The electrode layer 21 is formed using silver (Ag) as a metal material.

At one end of the electrode layer 21, a first connection wiring 28a is formed. That is, the first connection line 28a is formed by electrically connecting the electrode layer 21 and the signal processor 30, and a sensing signal due to a resistance change of the metal oxide layer 20a is transmitted to the signal processor 30. introduce.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the second embodiment of the reaction coat layer 20 includes a metal conductive layer 20b formed on the glass substrate 10 using an electrically conductive metal.

The metal conductive layer 20b is formed such that a resistance change is caused by contaminants stacked on one surface. That is, the resistance of the metal conductive layer 20b is changed by a contact reaction of a contaminant which is a non-conductive particle.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the metal conductive layer 20b includes a first metal thin film layer 23 coated on the upper surface of the glass substrate 10 and graphite provided on the upper surface of the first metal thin film layer 23. It comprises a conductive layer 24 and a second metal thin film layer 25 provided on the upper surface of the graphite conductive layer 24.

The first metal thin film layer 23 and the second metal thin film layer 25 are materials having extremely excellent thermal conductivity as compared with synthetic resins and ceramics, and metal materials such as aluminum and titanium can be used. is there.

As a material for forming the first metal thin film layer 23 and the second metal thin film layer 25, it is preferable to use aluminum metal.

Each of the first metal thin film layer 23 and the second metal thin film layer 25 has a thin thickness in the form of a thin film, and is formed with a thickness of 0.5 to 2 μm.

The graphite conductive layer 24 has a plate shape having a predetermined thickness, and is made of graphite, which is a good conductor of electricity.

In the metal conductive layer 21b, a space for inducing the stacking of contaminants is formed. However, a change in resistance or a change in charge between the electrode surfaces of the first metal thin film layer 23 and the second metal thin film layer 25 is caused. Is formed, which is a hole for measuring.

The lamination groove 27 has a structure in which contaminants are laminated inside, and is formed to penetrate from the second metal thin film layer 25 to the graphite conductive layer 24. That is, the surface area of the second metal thin film layer 25 in which the stack groove 27 is formed and the surface area of the contaminant stacked in the stack groove 27 become the surface area of the resistance with respect to the upper side of the metal conductive layer 20b. The surface area of the first metal thin film layer 23 becomes the surface area of the resistance with respect to the lower side of the metal conductive layer 20b, thereby generating a parallel resistance value.

The stacked groove 27 may be formed using various methods such as etching and drilling.

At one end of each of the first metal thin film layer 23 and the second metal thin film layer 25, a second connection wiring 28b is formed. That is, the second connection wirings 28b, which are respectively connected and derived from the first metal thin film layer 23 and the second metal thin film layer 25, are formed so as to be electrically connected to the signal processor 30, A sensing signal based on a resistance change of the metal conductive layer 20b, that is, a parallel resistance value is transmitted to the signal processor 30.

The signal processor 30 has a function of performing arithmetic processing on the signal of the reaction coat layer 20 and outputting a determination signal regarding the presence or absence of contamination of the solar cell module.

The signal processor 30 is connected to the reaction coat layer 20 via the first connection wiring 28a or the second connection wiring 28b, and is configured to transmit a signal of resistance change.

As shown in FIG. 6, the signal processor 30 is configured to measure an amount of change in resistance value from a change in resistance due to a stack of contaminants on the photovoltaic module M. It comprises a unit 33, a signal determination unit 35, a comparison determination unit 37, and an LED blinking unit 39.

The arithmetic unit 31 performs an arithmetic operation on a resistance value from a signal input from the reaction coat layer 20 and measures the degree of contamination so as to be a numerical value. That is, the calculation unit 31 calculates a resistance value from a resistance change that differs depending on whether or not a contaminant is stacked on the reaction coat layer 20.

The display unit 33 outputs the resistance value measured and digitized by the calculation unit 31.

The display unit 33 may be configured to output the result of the measurement in the operation unit 31 in real time or to output the result of the measurement in the operation unit 31 at regular intervals.

The signal determination unit 35 determines whether or not the resistance value measured by the calculation unit 31 has changed. That is, the signal determination unit 35 determines whether there is a change in the resistance value of the resistance value measured by the calculation unit 31 based on the resistance value before the contaminant is stacked.

The comparison and determination unit 37 determines the presence or absence of contamination by comparing the resistance value measured by the calculation unit 31 with a set reference resistance value.

The resistance value measured by the calculation unit 31 is input to the comparison / determination unit 37. However, as a result of the determination through the signal determination unit 35, the resistance for determination is determined only when the resistance value changes. A value is entered.

The comparison determination unit 37 determines whether the resistance value changed by the signal determination unit 35 is greater than a reference resistance value, and determines whether to wash the solar cell module M. For example, only when the measured resistance value input from the signal determination unit 35 is larger than the reference resistance value, a signal indicating that cleaning is necessary is transmitted to the LED blinking unit 39.

The LED blinking section 39 blinks according to the discrimination signal of the comparison discriminating section 37 so as to display the result in a form that can be confirmed by an administrator.

The LED blinking unit 39 displays a final measurement result of the pollution degree by performing a blinking signal using LED lamps of various hues.

That is, the process of such a signal processor 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. First, when the measurement of the degree of contamination is started in a state where the glass substrate 10 is located in contact with the surface of the solar cell module M, Then, the sensing signal based on the resistance change is input from the reaction coat layer 20 to the calculation unit 31 of the signal processor 30, and the calculation unit 31 calculates the resistance value by calculating the resistance change signal. Next, the resistance value calculated by the calculation unit 31 is output from the display unit 33 and the presence or absence of a change in the resistance value is determined through the signal determination unit 35. At this time, when the resistance value does not change from the signal judging section 35, the measuring operation is continued. However, when the resistance value changes from the signal judging section 35, the measurement The value is compared with the reference resistance value to determine the presence or absence of contamination. If the measured resistance value is greater than the reference resistance value, it is determined that cleaning work is necessary, and the final result is indicated from the LED blinking unit 39. I do.

That is, according to the apparatus for measuring the degree of contamination of the surface of a photovoltaic cell module according to the present invention configured as described above, after detecting a change in electrical resistance due to contact with a contaminant, the presence or absence of contamination is determined based on the amount of change in resistance. In this way, the optimum cleaning cycle is notified, the necessity of the cleaning work is stored, and the periodic cleaning work keeps the photovoltaic module clean, extends the performance and life of the equipment, and generates power from the photovoltaic module. Efficiency can be improved and the added value of energy generation can be improved.

In addition, by using a simple structure including a reaction coat layer and a signal processor together with a glass substrate that can be attached to the surface of a solar cell module, it is possible to reduce product manufacturing and equipment costs and improve price competitiveness. It can be flexibly applied to a pre-designed solar cell module, and can improve the effectiveness of the product.

Furthermore, according to another embodiment of the apparatus for measuring the degree of contamination of the surface of a photovoltaic module according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8, a central server of a photovoltaic power plant equipped with a plurality of photovoltaic modules M in an array form. It further includes a remote control communication unit 40 provided to be able to communicate in cooperation with S.

The remote control communication unit 40 is provided between the signal processor 30 and the central server S so as to be able to transmit and receive signals to and from each other. That is, the remote control communication unit 40 is provided on the signal processor 30 and is configured to transmit a signal to the central server S or to receive a signal from the central server S.

When transmitting / receiving signals from the remote control communication unit 40, the signals are transmitted / received between the central servers S via a computer communication network. That is, the remote control communication unit 40 can transmit the discrimination signal measured by the signal processor 30 to the central server S via a computer communication network to measure the contamination degree of the signal processor 30. The control signal of the central server S can be received via a computer communication network.

The communication type of the remote control communication unit 40 is such that wireless communication is performed by applying either an AP (associated press communication) network that is general wireless communication or a LTE (long term evolution) communication network that is high-speed wireless communication. May be configured.

That is, when the present invention is configured as in the other embodiments described above, the remote control communication unit 40 is configured to be communicable with the central server of the photovoltaic power plant, thereby contaminating the array-type photovoltaic module. The degree is collectively measured, maintenance and management are extremely easy, and the measurement processing can be performed quickly.

Except for the configuration, the other embodiments described above can also be implemented with the same configuration as that of the above-described embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The preferred embodiment of the apparatus for measuring the degree of contamination of the surface of a solar cell module according to the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the scope of the claims, the specification, and the accompanying drawings is not limited thereto. Within the above, various modifications can be made, which also belong to the scope of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 10 glass substrate 20 reaction coat layer 20a metal oxide layer 20b metal conductive layer 21 electrode layer 23 first metal thin film layer 24 graphite conductive layer 25 second metal thin film layer 27 stacked groove 28a first connection wiring 28b second Connection wiring 30 Signal processor 31 Operation unit 33 Display unit 35 Signal judgment unit 37 Comparison judgment unit 39 LED blinking unit 40 Remote control communication unit

Claims (4)

A glass substrate provided so as to be attachable to the surface of the solar cell module,
A reaction coat layer that is coated on one surface of the glass substrate, has a structure in which contaminants can be stacked on one surface, and is formed so as to cause a resistance change due to contact with the contaminants.
Connected to the reaction coat layer, a signal of the resistance change is transmitted, the signal of the reaction coat layer is arithmetically processed, and the amount of change in the resistance value is measured from the resistance change due to the lamination of the contaminants. A signal processor that outputs a signal,
The reaction coat layer is formed of a metal conductive layer formed of an electrically conductive metal so that a resistance change due to a contact reaction of the non-conductive particles occurs from the stack of contaminants,
The metal conductive layer includes a first metal thin film layer coated on an upper surface of the glass substrate, a graphite conductive layer provided on an upper surface of the first metal thin film layer, and a second metal thin film layer provided on an upper surface of the graphite conductive layer. A second metal thin film layer, wherein the metal conductive layer is provided with a laminated groove that penetrates from the second metal thin film layer to the graphite conductive layer and guides contaminants to be laminated inside. Pollution degree measuring device for photovoltaic module. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first metal thin film layer and the second metal thin film layer have a thickness of 0.5 to 2 μm and are made of aluminum metal. 3. The signal processor is a computing unit that computes and measures a resistance value from a signal of the reaction coat layer, a display unit that outputs a resistance value measured by the computing unit, and a resistance value measured by the computing unit. A signal determination unit for determining whether there is a change, a comparison determination unit that determines the presence or absence of contamination by comparing the resistance value measured by the calculation unit with a set reference resistance value, and a determination signal of the comparison determination unit. The apparatus for measuring the degree of contamination of the surface of a photovoltaic module according to claim 1, comprising: an LED blinking section that blinks so as to display a result in response. Although it is possible to communicate in cooperation with the central server of the photovoltaic power plant, it is possible to transmit the discrimination signal measured by the signal processor to the central server via a computer communication network, and to contaminate the signal processor. The control signal of the said central server for a degree measurement further has a remote control communication part provided so that reception via a computer communication network is possible, The surface of the solar cell module of any one of Claims 1-3. Pollution degree measuring device.

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