{"681817":{"#nid":"681817","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Harnessing Solar Power: Georgia Tech Students Clean PV Panels for Research and Sustainability","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn a cloudy spring day in Atlanta, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/richard-simmons\u0022\u003ERich Simmons\u003C\/a\u003E, director of research and studies at the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.research.gatech.edu\/energy\u0022\u003ESEI\u003C\/a\u003E), led a group of a dozen student volunteers to the roof of the Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions Laboratory (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/energy\/cnes-building\u0022\u003ECNES\u003C\/a\u003E). The students were part of the nearly 300 student volunteers participating in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/calendar.gatech.edu\/event\/2025\/03\/29\/tech-beautification-day\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Beautification Day\u003C\/a\u003E and visited CNES to clean the building\u2019s\u0026nbsp;rooftop solar array made of\u0026nbsp;photovoltaic (PV) panels. The CNES building entered operation in 2011 and its panels have accumulated grime over the years, impacting their efficiency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESimmons explained the importance of this project, emphasizing how cleaning the panels restores their efficiency and contributes to ongoing research. \u0022We\u0027ve used this project to better understand PV efficiency in an urban environment and have instrumented the newly cleaned arrays to continue monitoring. An initial study last year suggested efficiency could increase by 10-20% just from a thorough cleaning. This project is both a handy research tool, an educational conduit, and a means of campus engagement related to sustainability,\u0022 he shared.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESafety was paramount, and proactive communication between the research, health and safety, and infrastructure and sustainability teams ensured a successful event. Equipped with hard hats, eye protection, and high-visibility safety vests, the students scrubbed the panels with sponges and bristle brushes. The hands-on experience was both educational and rewarding.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter cleaning, Simmons led the group to the inverter room, where the DC electricity generated by the panels is converted into AC so that it can be consumed within the building or exported to the campus grid. He explained that excess solar power can also be stored in the newly installed 150-kWh Stryten battery system or used to charge campus vehicles through the newly installed EV chargers in the building\u2019s parking lot. He demonstrated how magnetic monitoring devices measure the electricity produced by the arrays, allowing for a comparison of the efficiency of panels that were just cleaned, to those that were cleaned last year, and those that have never been cleaned in the 13 years since their installation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough initiatives like this, Georgia Tech continues to lead in research and education, inspiring the next generation of innovators and problem-solvers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis article was written with the assistance of Microsoft Copilot (Apr. 9, 2025) and edited by Georgia Tech EPIcenter\u0027s \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/people-epicenter-team\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGilbert X. Gonzalez\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E and Rich Simmons.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn a cloudy spring day in Atlanta, Rich Simmons, director of research studies at the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.research.gatech.edu\/energy\u0022\u003ESEI\u003C\/a\u003E), led a group of a dozen student volunteers to the roof of the Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions Laboratory (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/energy\/cnes-building\u0022\u003ECNES\u003C\/a\u003E). The students were part of the nearly 300 student volunteers participating in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/calendar.gatech.edu\/event\/2025\/03\/29\/tech-beautification-day\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Beautification Day\u003C\/a\u003E and visited CNES to clean the building\u2019s\u0026nbsp;rooftop solar array made of\u0026nbsp;photovoltaic (PV) panels.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech Beautification Day brought student volunteers to the Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions Building to clean the building\u0027s solar PV arrays."}],"uid":"36413","created_gmt":"2025-04-15 18:45:55","changed_gmt":"2025-04-15 21:37:06","author":"pdevarajan3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-04-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-04-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676848":{"id":"676848","type":"image","title":"IMG_0513.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech Beautification Day student volunteers along with Rich Simmons, SEI\u0027s director of research and studies, on the rooftop of CNES building with the solar panels in the background\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1744752765","gmt_created":"2025-04-15 21:32:45","changed":"1744753326","gmt_changed":"2025-04-15 21:42:06","alt":"Georgia Tech Beautification Day volunteers on the rooftop of CNES building, with the cleaned solar panels in the background","file":{"fid":"260693","name":"IMG_0513.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_0513.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_0513.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":64626,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_0513.jpg?itok=V86NRXx_"}},"676846":{"id":"676846","type":"image","title":"IMG_1725.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech students busy cleaning the solar PV arrays on the rooftop of the carbon neutral energy solutions building during Georgia Tech Beautification Day\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1744751720","gmt_created":"2025-04-15 21:15:20","changed":"1744751720","gmt_changed":"2025-04-15 21:15:20","alt":"Georgia Tech Students Volunteering during Georgia Tech Beautification Day","file":{"fid":"260691","name":"IMG_1725.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_1725.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_1725.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":828359,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_1725.jpg?itok=W6D6jg2f"}},"676847":{"id":"676847","type":"image","title":"IMG_0497.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ERich Simmons, providing a tour of the inverter room in the CNES building to the student volunteers\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1744752121","gmt_created":"2025-04-15 21:22:01","changed":"1744752121","gmt_changed":"2025-04-15 21:22:01","alt":"Rich Simmons, giving a tour of the inverter room in the CNES building to the student volunteers ","file":{"fid":"260692","name":"IMG_0497.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_0497.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_0497.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":52654,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_0497.jpg?itok=cbvkjbS5"}},"676849":{"id":"676849","type":"image","title":"IMG_1731.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EStudent volunteers busy at work cleaning the solar panels\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1744752956","gmt_created":"2025-04-15 21:35:56","changed":"1744752956","gmt_changed":"2025-04-15 21:35:56","alt":"Student volunteers busy at work cleaning the solar panels","file":{"fid":"260694","name":"IMG_1731.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_1731.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_1731.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":835299,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/04\/15\/IMG_1731.jpg?itok=wQdC_qGz"}}},"media_ids":["676848","676846","676847","676849"],"groups":[{"id":"367481","name":"SEI Energy"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EPriya Devarajan\u003C\/a\u003E | Research Communications Program Manager\u003Cbr\u003EWritten by: Gilbert Gonzalez, Rich Simmons, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/epicenter.energy.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EEPIcenter\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["priya.devarajan@research.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}