L R AS Published on Sunday 26 April 2020 - n° 319 - Categories:various issues around PV
What is the most harmful dirt for solar production?
Researchers at the University of Exeter (UK) examined the effect of thirteen contaminants on panel production (composed of
ashes; bird droppings; carpet dust; cement; coal; clay; coarse sand; reddish clay "laterite"; silty and sandy soils; salt; stone dust; and wood dust).
Charcoal has been found to be the worst fouling agent, with a degradation of PV yield performance of about 98%. Salt was the least inhibiting, with only a 7% reduction in performance.
Panels containing an acrylic plastic encapsulant accumulate more dust than glass-covered panels. Researchers found that wet conditions reduced performance more than dry build-up because capillary force can create bridges between the particles and the surface.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/22/how-much-dust-is-enough/
PV Magazine of April 22nd
