Study Of Degrading Performance of Solar PV Panels Due To Effect of Dust Accumulation In Jaipur

Abstract

Solar photo voltaic (PV) systems are a promising method of generating electrical power from renewable energy in all over world right now. However, light obstruction on the solar panel due to dust accumulation can significantly influence the performance and efficiency of the system, and thus can affect the cash flow of the system operators. Instead of this problem, only small studies have been conducted on the nature of dust accumulation on solar PV panels. Many of the studies suggested different solutions but not proved significant. The main objective of this work was to study the effect of dust build-up on the performance of solar PV panel in one of the location in Jaipur. This work would allow appropriate scheduling for cleaning of the panels. The study was conducted on real-time basis on a building's roof. Measurements of irradiation, power output and the equivalent mass of dust collected were performed on hourly, daily, weekly and monthly basis. It was observed from the study that the system's performance could drop by about 6% annually. On the
Gopal Kumar(student),Poornima University Department of Electrical Engineeering




maintenance aspect, in order to continue economical operation, the cleaning interval should be every two months for industrial-scale systems that generate a minimum of 100 MWh/day. The interval would be shorter (i.e. one month) for smaller systems (residential).