Removal of Air Blown Dust from Photovoltaic Arrays Using Forced Air Flow of Return Air from Air Conditioning Systems

Shading and overheating of photovoltaic cells can result in a significant energy reduction of PV systems. Tilting and natural ventilation allows the buildup of fine sand to be blown off from the PV array's surface. However, dust particles tend to gradually accumulate on the PV surface making the cleaning task more difficult. The accumulated dust reduces the overall PV panel efficiency due to the combined effect of shading and heating. In this research work an original method to reduce effect of windblown sand and dust and increased PV temperature on photovoltaic arrays is described. The proposed method consists of removing air blown dust from photovoltaics using forced air flow of cooled return air from existing air conditioning systems.