The Analysis of Working Parameters Decrease in Photovoltaic Modules as a Result of Dust Deposition

Ewa Klugmann-Radziemska and Małgorzata Rudnicka
Additional contact information
Ewa Klugmann-Radziemska: Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland
Małgorzata Rudnicka: Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-11

Abstract: The aspect of dust accumulation on the surface of photovoltaic (PV) modules should be thoroughly understood in order to minimize possible obstacles affecting energy generation. Several elements affect the amount of pollutant gathered on the surface of a solar device, mainly its localization, which is irreversibly linked to factors such as annual rainfall, occasional snow coverage, or, in a dry climate, increased blow of dust during sandstorms and higher concentration of soil particles in desert areas. Other than weather conditions in the region, PV installation type also plays an important role as a more horizontal position is favorable for the accumulation of soil. The research carried out and presented in this paper was done for dust accumulated naturally on PV modules kept in outdoor conditions and dust artificially sieved onto the front glass cover of modules. The experiment performed by the authors, including artificially deposited dust, defined the linear relationship between surface dust density of different types of contaminants and efficiency decline up to 10% for two different PV modules. The additional field study carried out in external conditions for a coastal region in Northern Poland concluded that, after one year, exposition photovoltaic conversion efficiency can be over 10% lower, with a slight performance improvement for the autumn season characterized by heavy rainfall.

Keywords: dust accumulation; dust surface density; photovoltaic module; efficiency decrease (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4138/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4138/ (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:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:16:p:4138-:d:397154

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

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