Soiling by volcanic ash fall on photovoltaic modules and effects of hydrophilic coating on module cover glass

Abstract

Quantitative evaluations of output power and the development of a technique for countermeasures against volcanic ash fall are required in a volcanic ash fall environment. In this study, in order to clarify the effect of volcanic ash fall on the output power of photovoltaic (PV) modules and the effects of the hydrophilic coating on PV module cover glass, we evaluated the output power characteristics of PV modules by an artificial test. The hydrophilic coating was carried out using an inorganic material and formed an antisoiling layer on the PV module surface. The output power characteristics of PV modules were measured using a solar simulator. The superiority of the hydrophilically coated cover glass was found between the setting angles of 40 to 60° and the most remarkable in the vicinity of 45°. Moreover, it was confirmed that the superiority of the hydrophilically coated cover glass increases with an increase in the amount of ash fall.