Design and Implementation of a Device for the Determination of the Effect of Soiling on Photovoltaic Panel Performance

Abstract

The accumulation of dust on photovoltaic (PV) panel can lead to reduced radiation reaching its surface and possibly leading to hot spot effect. In this paper, a device for studying the effect of soiling on a PV module is described. The device was designed to measure the level of accumulated dust on the surface of the panel (panel soiling), using an infra-red transceiver. The sensor is positioned above the panel, with its infra-red (IR) energy reflected off the panel and captured by a photodiode. The amount of energy detected by the photodiode is directly proportional to the amount of energy reflected off the PV module surface which is also inversely proportional to the amount of dust accumulated. The sensor reading is expressed as a percentage of the reflected energy of the soiled surface to that of a clean surface. A provision is made for the output current, voltage and power of the PV to be measured for every soiling. The measured values (percentage soiling, current, voltage and power) are logged and made accessible via Wi-Fi network. When tested the designed measuring devices had accuracies that are more than 90% and the logged data could be accessed on the network.