Assessment of Various Dry Photovoltaic Cleaning Techniques and Frequencies on the Power Output of CdTe-Type Modules in Dusty Environments

Mohammed Al-Housani, Yusuf Bicer and Muammer Koç
Additional contact information
Mohammed Al-Housani: Division of Sustainable Development (DSD), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar Foundation (QF), Education City, Doha 5825, Qatar
Yusuf Bicer: Division of Sustainable Development (DSD), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar Foundation (QF), Education City, Doha 5825, Qatar
Muammer Koç: Division of Sustainable Development (DSD), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar Foundation (QF), Education City, Doha 5825, Qatar

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: This study presents the conditions and results of experimental investigations on various photovoltaic (PV) module cleaning methods and the effects on the performance of cadmium-telluride CdTe-type photovoltaic (PV) modules located in Doha, Qatar. The study aims to find the optimum cleaning technique and frequency based on cleaning performance and cost. PV modules are in a dusty and rocky area in the western part of Doha, Qatar within the north campus of Education City. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technology is employed for five different PV modules. The results show that microfiber-based wiper along with microfiber & vacuum cleaner are the most effective cleaning methods with about 6% improvement for the weekly period compared to the control panel among the considered methods. However, due to the increased cost of adding a vacuum cleaner, the microfiber-based wiper is the most efficient method when both cost and improvement rates are considered. In addition, the most efficient cleaning frequency (among daily, weekly and monthly) is found to be the weekly cleaning under the tested climate conditions.

Keywords: soiling; photovoltaic; efficiency; performance; dust (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/10/2850/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/10/2850/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:10:p:2850-:d:232512

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().