Experimental analysis of dust composition impact on Photovoltaic panel Performance: A case study

Solar Photovoltaic systems are greatly influenced by meteorological conditions of the surrounding area, dust is the most influencing one. Dust deposition on the surface of photovoltaic (PV) panel hinder the penetration of solar radiation to PV cells and eventually reduce the power production of PV system. To overcome dust-based power losses, frequent cleaning is required depending on geographical location, PV integration scheme and size of the PV power plant. In this manuscript, consequences of dust deposition on photovoltaic systems such as drop in radiation and output power operating are studied, and the optimal time interval for cleaning is determined. Airborne dust particles were collected for a month for morphological and meteorological characterization. The average mass concentrations of the sample are 187.63 mu gm-3, showcasing an irregular distribution of dust particles having unlike shapes and sizes. In this study, the influence of dust deposition is quantified using temperature and insolation for clean and dirty PV panels. The overall performance of the PV system is studied based on a comparison of quantified and recorded data. Lastly, different cleaning methodologies are studied to procure the best ones. Power losses were brought down to 7% when PV panels were cleaned fortnightly, which is the most feasible interval in terms of balance between cleaning cost and energy wasted due to soiling.