BRAND-NEW
Researchers Developed a Spray-on Coating That Could Make Solar Panels Snow-Resistant The University of Michigan has demonstrated a clear coating that reduces snow and ice accumulation on solar panels.
A
team of researchers from the University of Michigan has
with the aim of developing a coating that can last at least five years.
developed an inexpensive clear coating that could prevent snow
“As the cost of solar energy has dropped and profitability has climbed,
and ice accumulation on solar panels, improving their productivity
much of the growth in solar energy in recent years has been in northern
also in cold climates by up to 85%, as demonstrated in early testing that
states, where snow is common. Snow-phobic coatings, if we can
took place in Alaska.
demonstrate their long-term efficacy, will make solar power more reliable
The coating is mostly composed by PVC or PDMS plastic and silicon or
and more affordable in snowy regions, helping accelerate our nation’s
vegetable-based oils. It can be sprayed or brushed on in cold weather
transition to a more solar-dominated energy economy,” commented also
and, in its current iteration, can keep shedding snow and ice for up to a
Laurie Burnham, the project’s principal investigator.
whole year.
The coating was developed as part of a project led by Sandia National
“Renewable energy is really taking off right now, but snow is a huge
Laboratories, a U.S. Department of Energy research and development lab,
problem in northern climates. Solar panels might lose 80 or 90% of
with funding provided by the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office. The
their generating capacity in the winter. So, figuring out a way for them
study is published in Advanced Materials Technologies. Other researchers
to continue generating energy throughout the year was an exciting
on the project were former U-M materials science and engineering
challenge,” stated Anish Tuteja, the U-M professor of materials science
graduate researcher Abhishek Dhyani; Christopher Pike and Erin Whitney
and engineering who led the study in collaboration with Sandia National
at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska; and
Laboratories and the University of Alaska. “Ice is relatively dense and
Jennifer Braid at the Photovoltaics and Materials Technology Department
heavy, and our previous coatings used its own weight against it. But snow
of Sandia National Laboratories.
can be 10 times less dense than ice, so we weren’t at all certain that the tricks we use on ice would translate to snow.”
For further information: https://news.umich.edu/
A precise combination of low interfacial toughness and low adhesion strength The researchers employed two key properties that have already powered ice-shedding coatings in the past: low interfacial toughness and low adhesion strength. Low surface adhesion is suitable for small areas, but it needs more force to slide snow and ice off bigger surfaces. Low interfacial toughness allows to create cracks between the ice and the panel that propagate along it, regardless of its size, breaking the ice and snow free. The team has then focused on accurately balance the two in order to provide snow and ice repellence for both small and large surfaces. The scientists from the University of Michigan collaborated with the University of Alaska to test the material on a solar field in Fairbanks (Alaska), applying the coatings to a subset of panels that were monitored by automated cameras for almost two weeks. The tests showed that the coated panels had an average snow and ice coverage of approximately 28% over an entire winter season, in comparison to about 59% for the uncoated panels. However, the team plans to tweak the coating further,
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N. 73 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 - international PAINT&COATING magazine
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