In-situ investigation of the effect of dust deposition on the performance of polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules

Abstract

In this study, a test platform consisting of an array of photovoltaic (PV) modules and different measuring instruments was set up to monitor the real-time temperature of the PV modules, the output power, the solar irradiance, and other environmental parameters. Dust deposition strongly affects the performance of PV modules; therefore, in this study, the effect of dust deposition on the module temperature, the transmittance, and the output power of the PV modules was comprehensively investigated, in particular, focusing on the dust deposition density. The results showed that dust deposition not only reduced the transmittance of the PV glass panel, but also reduced the module temperature, thereby affecting the output power of the PV module. Through an analysis of the test data, the relationships between the dust deposition density and both the relative transmittance and the relative output power rate were successfully established. Moreover, the experiment elucidated that the relative transmittance of a PV module could decline by 20% within only 8 days due to natural dust deposition.