INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF DUST AND DIRT ACCUMULATION ON THE ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE OF SOLAR PV PANELS

Abstract

With the development in the industry, the increasing demand for electrical energy, expensive electricity consumption costs and the rapid decrease in existing fossil fuel reserves have accelerated the search and use of new energy sources. The most important feature of solar energy for the world and future generations is that it is a clean, sustainable, green energy source and plentiful in many places, so solar energy is very popular among renewable energy sources. Solar PV panels are the key element commonly used to generate electrical energy from solar energy. With the development of photovoltaic panels, solar fields have started to be established in order to provide the clean energy needed, and these fields with various capacities and sizes have started to contribute to the energy production of our country. While the contribution of the returns of the systems, which are put into operation after their investments are completed, to the national economy has started to reach visible levels, the efficiency of these products should be accurately measured and monitored. External factors such as dust, dirt, bird droppings and crystalline residues accumulating on the surface of solar PV panels cause a serious decrease in the electrical efficiency of solar PV panels. In this study, silty sand, cement dust, coal dust and bird droppings deposited on the surface of solar PV panels were extensively investigated to show their effects on the electrical performance of solar PV panels. Experimental studies are carried out under conditions of natural dustiness and dirtiness. Solar PV panel output current and voltage, solar radiation, temperature data are recorded instantly. In this study, the dust and dirt effect is investigated with the change in short-circuit current. Electrical performance analyzes of solar PV are investigated with the change in I-V and P-V characteristic curve of the panels.