In Yinzhou District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, owner Mr. Chen operates a distributed photovoltaic power station covering an industrial park, warehouse rooftops, and surrounding unused land. The station has a total installed capacity of approximately 500kW and over 1,200 solar panels. However, the layout is extremely scattered—including arrays on the rooftop of a three-story factory building and panels on sloped supports scattered across open fields. Parts of the area are also adjacent to trees and walls. The narrow terrain and dense obstructions present numerous challenges in cleaning the panels.

Previously, the power plant relied on a manual cleaning team, employing 6-8 workers per cleaning session, armed with sponges and high-pressure water guns, to travel back and forth between the solar panels in different areas. Due to the scattered distribution of the solar panels, workers frequently had to carry tools and navigate obstacles, and the round-trip journey alone consumed a significant amount of time. For the solar panels on the third-story roof, temporary scaffolding was required for operation, which not only took 2-3 hours to set up but also posed a safety risk of falling from height. Further complicating matters, Ningbo experiences heavy rain in the summer and fog in the spring and autumn, which easily forms a sticky mixture of dust and moisture on the surface of the solar panels. Manual wiping is difficult to completely remove, especially in the seams and corners of the panels, where dirt remains a significant amount. Over time, the efficiency of the solar panels continued to decline. Mr. Chen calculated that incomplete cleaning resulted in an average annual power loss of approximately 15% in the power plant, directly impacting the return on investment.

In early 2024, Mr. Chen learned about the Xiangyangtian X4 dual-head solar panel cleaning machine through a live demonstration at the Yangtze River Delta Photovoltaic Operation and Maintenance Exchange Conference. After comparing several devices, he found that the X4’s dual-brush design and flexible adaptability perfectly addressed the cleaning pain points of power plants located in dispersed and complex terrains. He then purchased two lithium-ion battery-powered units and put them into use.

The core advantage of the X4 dual-head solar panel cleaner lies first and foremost in its efficient dual brush heads. Equipped with two 32cm diameter brush heads, each with a cleaning width of 65cm, it perfectly covers the width of the 166- and 182-inch photovoltaic panels, the mainstream models used by Ningbo Power Station, eliminating any missed areas. Each brush head is driven by an independent motor, capable of speeds up to 380 rpm. The high-speed spinning nylon bristles, combined with a low-pressure water spray system, quickly remove sticky dirt from the panel surface. Bird droppings and mildew stains that previously required three or four manual swipes can now be completely removed with a single, steady stroke with the X4. During his first trial, Mr. Chen observed that after cleaning a photovoltaic panel covered in gray-brown dirt, the surface transmittance quickly returned to over 95% after the X4 was cleaned, virtually indistinguishable from the light transmittance of a newly installed panel.

The X4’s telescopic pole design plays a key role in addressing the “staggered” layout of photovoltaic panels in power plants. Made of aircraft-grade aluminum alloy, it weighs only 3.2kg, yet supports a maximum extension length of 7.5 meters. For solar panels on a three-story rooftop (approximately 9 meters high), operators standing on the roof’s edge platform can adjust the telescopic pole to 5.5 meters to cover the entire panel surface, eliminating the need for scaffolding. For solar panels in narrow ground areas, the telescopic pole, shortened to 3.5 meters, allows for flexible maneuvering between trees and walls, preventing damage to tools. This design not only reduces the risk of working at height to zero, but also eliminates the time required to set up and dismantle scaffolding, reducing the time required for a single cleaning and preparation session from 3 hours to 15 minutes.

In terms of power adaptability, some open-air areas at the Ningbo power station are over 200 meters from the distribution box, posing a tripping hazard and voltage instability when running wires. Therefore, Mr. Chen chose the lithium-ion battery version of the X4. The device’s lithium-ion battery provides up to 6.5 hours of battery life on a full charge—considering the power station’s daily workload of cleaning 300 solar panels, a single battery can support the entire process without requiring mid-cycle replacements. Operators reported that manual cleaning previously required frequent trips to fetch water and recharge, resulting in only four hours of effective daily operation. However, with the X4, they can now clean continuously for over six hours, requiring only a single refill of water, significantly improving work continuity.

After three months of continuous use, Mr. Chen commissioned a third-party testing agency to analyze the power plant’s power generation data. The results showed that the average daily power generation of the solar panels after cleaning increased by 22% compared to before cleaning. The increase in power generation for solar panels in open-air areas was 25% due to more thorough dirt removal. In terms of cleaning efficiency, two operators using two X4 machines can clean 600 solar panels per day, three times the efficiency of traditional manual labor and reducing labor costs by 60%. The equipment also offers a low barrier to entry: new operators can operate independently after just two hours of training, eliminating the need to hire a professional cleaning team.

Now, Mr. Chen’s Ningbo distributed photovoltaic power plant has completely overcome the challenges of difficult cleaning, low efficiency, and poor returns. The XYT X4 dual-head solar panel cleaning machine, with its flexibility to adapt to complex terrain, efficient cleaning power from its dual brush heads, and long-lasting stability, has become a core piece of equipment for power plant operations and maintenance. This case also provides a replicable cleaning solution for distributed photovoltaic power stations in the Yangtze River Delta region, which are prone to rain and fog and have scattered layouts, further verifying XYT’s technical adaptability in the field of photovoltaic cleaning.