Analysis of dust accumulation effects on the long-term performance of solar PV panels

Anbazhagan Geetha; S. Usha; J. Santhakumar; Surender Reddy Salkuti; Anbazhagan Geetha; S. Usha; J. Santhakumar; Surender Reddy Salkuti

doi:10.3934/energy.2025019

AIMS Energy

2025, Volume 13, Issue 3: 493-516. doi: 10.3934/energy.2025019

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Research article

Analysis of dust accumulation effects on the long-term performance of solar PV panels

1.
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu 603203, India
2.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu 603203, India
3.
Department of Railroad and Electrical Engineering, Woosong University, Daejeon 34606, Republic of Korea

Received: 29 March 2025 Revised: 11 May 2025 Accepted: 20 May 2025 Published: 26 May 2025

Solar cells are the most common and important applications of solar energy. However, dust accumulation can have a very serious impact on the performance of Photovoltaic (PV) systems. Here, we investigated the dust and its influence on solar modules, both polycrystalline and monocrystalline. The specified site had four horizontally oriented 80 W PV modules. To mitigate the environmental effect, one of the two PV modules was intentionally kept dusty while the other was consistently cleaned. Over 90 days, measurements of PV performance and ambient factors were taken every 30 minutes. Time-based and normalized measurements were used to discuss how dust affects current, voltage, and power. Research revealed that the accumulation of dust led to a higher rate of power decline (30.48%) in polycrystalline PV modules compared to monocrystalline PV modules (14.1%). The current and power losses for monocrystalline PV modules ranged from 0.21 to 2.16 A and 13 to 56 W, respectively. When subjected to external conditions for an equivalent duration, polycrystalline PV modules had degradation rates ranging from 0.1 to 2.37 A in terms of current, and power losses ranging from 10 to 60.5 W, respectively. The results confirmed that polycrystalline surface characteristics significantly increase the amount of dust accumulation, which must be considered when designing all such solar arrays and testing for deployment. This finding provides a lesson for high PV maintenance strategy optimization, specifically in high dust operating environments, for continued PV energy.
- PV modules,
- polycrystalline,
- monocrystalline,
- ambient factors,
- Dust accumulation,
- dust deposition
Citation: Anbazhagan Geetha, S. Usha, J. Santhakumar, Surender Reddy Salkuti. Analysis of dust accumulation effects on the long-term performance of solar PV panels[J]. AIMS Energy, 2025, 13(3): 493-516. doi: 10.3934/energy.2025019

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Abstract

Solar cells are the most common and important applications of solar energy. However, dust accumulation can have a very serious impact on the performance of Photovoltaic (PV) systems. Here, we investigated the dust and its influence on solar modules, both polycrystalline and monocrystalline. The specified site had four horizontally oriented 80 W PV modules. To mitigate the environmental effect, one of the two PV modules was intentionally kept dusty while the other was consistently cleaned. Over 90 days, measurements of PV performance and ambient factors were taken every 30 minutes. Time-based and normalized measurements were used to discuss how dust affects current, voltage, and power. Research revealed that the accumulation of dust led to a higher rate of power decline (30.48%) in polycrystalline PV modules compared to monocrystalline PV modules (14.1%). The current and power losses for monocrystalline PV modules ranged from 0.21 to 2.16 A and 13 to 56 W, respectively. When subjected to external conditions for an equivalent duration, polycrystalline PV modules had degradation rates ranging from 0.1 to 2.37 A in terms of current, and power losses ranging from 10 to 60.5 W, respectively. The results confirmed that polycrystalline surface characteristics significantly increase the amount of dust accumulation, which must be considered when designing all such solar arrays and testing for deployment. This finding provides a lesson for high PV maintenance strategy optimization, specifically in high dust operating environments, for continued PV energy.

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