Performance Analysis of Efficiency of Solar Photovoltaic Module on Dust Deposition

Deepti Kakarla

Abstract

The rise in demand for energy and the continuous decrease in existing sources of fossil, have push mankind to explore new technologies for improving utilization of green energy. Solar energy is one of the promising sources to meet the increasing demand of electricity. There are factors that affect the performance of Photovoltaic (PV) modules. One such is dust deposition. The solar PV modules polluted by dust particles for a period experiences a significant decrease in their efficiency and performance during operation. The accumulation of dust on the surface of PV module reduces the glass cover transmittance and hence decreases the amount of solar irradiation reaching the cells. Studies on the effect of dust on PV system performance, especially solar module, in real condition are generally scarce. The proposed work involves calibrating the voltage and current readings of the panel output and comparing the efficiency before and after cleaning. The implementation also aims on providing an automatic cleaning mechanism that reduces human effort and is cost effective. Results proved that dust addition on the solar PV module affects the output power that significantly reduces the output power generated.