Abstract
Dust accumulation on the Photovoltaic (PV) modules, or soiling, is one of the conditions that negatively affect the performance of the modules by obstructing and reducing the incident sunlight. The process of building up the soiling layer on the surface of the PV modules is heavily influenced by the climatological parameters. In this study, the soiling loss of 20° tilted PV modules, mounted on a mock rooftop at ASU-PRL, was monitored during dry and wet periods (May to July, 2014), and correlated with weather parameters and events. As a result of the experiment, Relative Humidity (RH) and Wind Speed (WS) are the major players affecting the soiling loss. Heavy rain acts as a cleaning agent while light rain could be either a cleaning agent or a soiling agent. Being typically followed by rainfall, dust storms in Mesa, AZ, are not sever soiling agents.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 2015 Saudi Arabia Smart Grid, SASG 2015 |
| Publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781467394543 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 7 2016 |
| Event | Saudi Arabia Smart Grid, SASG 2015 - Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Duration: Dec 7 2015 → Dec 9 2015 |
Other
| Other | Saudi Arabia Smart Grid, SASG 2015 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Saudi Arabia |
| City | Jeddah |
| Period | 12/7/15 → 12/9/15 |
Keywords
- Climate
- dust storms
- photovoltaic modules
- rainfall
- relative humidity
- soiling loss
- wind speed
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- Computer Networks and Communications