Open AccessExperiment-based Study on the Impact of Soiling on PV System’s Performance
Author(s) -
Wan Juzaili Jamil,
Hasimah Abdul Rahman,
Kyairul Azmi Baharin
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of electrical and computer engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.277
H-Index - 22
ISSN - 2088-8708
DOI - 10.11591/ijece.v6i2.pp810-818
Subject(s) - photovoltaic system , environmental science , photovoltaics , tropical climate , meteorology , atmospheric sciences , simulation , computer science , engineering , geography , physics , electrical engineering , archaeology
Soiling refers to the accumulation of dust on PV modules which plays a small but significant role in degrading solar photovoltaics system efficiency. Its effect cannot be generalized because the severity is location and environment dependent. Currently, there are limited studies available on the soiling effect in the hot and humid Malaysian tropical climate. This paper presents an experimental-based approach to investigate the effect of soiling on PV module performance in a tropical climate. The experiment involved a full day exposure of a polycrystalline PV module in the outdoors with accelerated artificial dust loading and an indoor experiment for testing variable dust dimensions. The findings show that for the worst case, the module’s output can be reduced by as much as 20%.