You wouldn`t believe how much the dust can cause the damage to your solar system, unless it is tested and reported by scientists, it is related to your investment return period, how important is it to clean your solar panel with solar panel cleaning machine or solar panel cleaning robot.
Scientists in Romania have issued a warning regarding the impact of extreme dust conditions on solar energy production. Their research indicates that such conditions can result in losses of up to 45.35% and 38.14% in maximum power and short-circuit current for different types of solar modules under outdoor conditions. This highlights the vulnerability of solar energy systems to climate change-induced phenomena such as less rainfall and more frequent sandstorm events originating from the Saharan region. The scientists have emphasized that this is particularly relevant for Europe, where such extreme scenarios are increasingly likely to occur in the future.
The scientists conducted their tests on amorphous silicon (a-Si), monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels, on which they simulated relatively extreme dust conditions. They used a mini a-Si module with dimensions of 30 mm × 30 mm, a monocrystalline panel measuring 41.6 mm × 33.9 mm, and a polycrystalline device with a size of 33 mm × 40.4 mm. On them, they deposited natural dust collected from the surroundings of the Eastern Romanian city of Brașov. The non-homogeneous layers were deposited using a sieve.
The academics tested the modules under varying conditions, in the lab, in the field, and under different irradiations. Furthermore, they compared their performance with that of reference modules without dust.
For the field test, they placed the modules on the rooftop of one of Transilvania University of Brașov's campuses and took measurements once irradiation reached 800 W/m2, 900 W/m2, and 1,000 W/m2. The same irradiation levels were simulated in the lab experiment using a solar simulator.
Under all of those conditions, the modules were tested for I-V characteristics as well as front and back temperatures.
As one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources worldwide, the impact of climate change on solar energy production must be taken into account by policymakers and investors to ensure the long-term viability of the sector.
The research group found that the maximum drop in short circuit current and maximum power point between a clean and a dusty module happened in the scenario of the poly-Si mini-cell at 800 W/m2, outside and inside. In the field test, the short-circuit current decrease was 38.14% and 45.35% in maximum power point, while in the lab, it was 33.38% and 32.02%, respectively.
As for the temperature of the front surface, in the outdoor case, the polysilicon panel under 1,000 W/m2 irradiation displayed the most significant increase – of 3.7 C. In the indoor case, the largest temperature jump was 1.3 C, on the polysilicon module under 800 W/m2 and the a-Si module with 900 W/m2.
When calculating the rise in temperature of the back surface, the largest increase in the field was 2.3 C in the a-Si under 1,000 W/m2 case, and in the lab, it was the monocrystalline panel under the same irradiation, with 0.9 C higher temperatures compared to the clean module.
