IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v150y2020icp456-468.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigation of soiling effects, dust chemistry and optimum cleaning schedule for PV modules in Lahore, Pakistan

Author

Listed:
  • Ullah, Asad
  • Amin, Amir
  • Haider, Turab
  • Saleem, Murtaza
  • Butt, Nauman Zafar

Abstract

We investigate the photovoltaic (PV) power losses due to soiling for Lahore, Pakistan for solar panels. Optimized cleaning schedules are proposed incorporating the effect of solar panels’ tilt angle and the method (manual vs. automatic) for cleaning. Output power losses and dust accumulation on solar panels were measured at variable tilt angles for a period of 120 days at an open roof top location in Lahore. The relative soiling losses for monofacial vs. bifacial (constructed by stacking two back to back monofacial) solar panels were compared for two different panel orientations, i.e., south faced tilted panels vs. East/West faced vertical panels. We found that the soiling rate for Lahore was consistently around 0.8% per day for 30° tilted panel (for the measurement period between October to January), which is among one of the highest soiling rates reported for various urban locations across South Asian and Gulf regions. A dust accumulation rate of 0.01−0.02mg/cm2 per day was recorded for panels that were fixed at 30° tilt. The variation for soiling/dust deposition rates was found to be negligible for different dry periods spanning between October and January. The chemistry and composition of the dust were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and, electron dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Large contents of carbon and quartz were found in the dust collected from the samples through EDX and XRD analysis. High carbon contents in the accumulated dust are attributed to air pollutants and could be a contributing factor for the high soiling rate. For manual cleaning, the optimal cleaning schedule was calculated to be about once per week for panels at 30° tilt, and, once every three weeks for panels at 90° tilt.

Suggested Citation

  • Ullah, Asad & Amin, Amir & Haider, Turab & Saleem, Murtaza & Butt, Nauman Zafar, 2020. "Investigation of soiling effects, dust chemistry and optimum cleaning schedule for PV modules in Lahore, Pakistan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 456-468.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:150:y:2020:i:c:p:456-468
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2019.12.090
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148119319627
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2019.12.090?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Al-Sabounchi, Ammar M. & Yalyali, Saeed A. & Al-Thani, Hamda A., 2013. "Design and performance evaluation of a photovoltaic grid-connected system in hot weather conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 71-78.
    2. Adinoyi, Muhammed J. & Said, Syed A.M., 2013. "Effect of dust accumulation on the power outputs of solar photovoltaic modules," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 633-636.
    3. Hammad, Bashar & Al–Abed, Mohammad & Al–Ghandoor, Ahmed & Al–Sardeah, Ali & Al–Bashir, Adnan, 2018. "Modeling and analysis of dust and temperature effects on photovoltaic systems’ performance and optimal cleaning frequency: Jordan case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2218-2234.
    4. Ullah, Asad & Imran, Hassan & Maqsood, Zaki & Butt, Nauman Zafar, 2019. "Investigation of optimal tilt angles and effects of soiling on PV energy production in Pakistan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 830-843.
    5. Kalogirou, Soteris A. & Agathokleous, Rafaela & Panayiotou, Gregoris, 2013. "On-site PV characterization and the effect of soiling on their performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 439-446.
    6. Asl-Soleimani, E & Farhangi, S & Zabihi, M.S, 2001. "The effect of tilt angle, air pollution on performance of photovoltaic systems in Tehran," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 459-468.
    7. Sarver, Travis & Al-Qaraghuli, Ali & Kazmerski, Lawrence L., 2013. "A comprehensive review of the impact of dust on the use of solar energy: History, investigations, results, literature, and mitigation approaches," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 698-733.
    8. Hegazy, Adel A, 2001. "Effect of dust accumulation on solar transmittance through glass covers of plate-type collectors," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 525-540.
    9. Said, S.A.M., 1990. "Effects of dust accumulation on performances of thermal and photovoltaic flat-plate collectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 73-84.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Conceição, Ricardo & González-Aguilar, José & Merrouni, Ahmed Alami & Romero, Manuel, 2022. "Soiling effect in solar energy conversion systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. Chiteka, Kudzanayi & Arora, Rajesh & Sridhara, S.N. & Enweremadu, C.C., 2021. "Optimizing wind barrier and photovoltaic array configuration in soiling mitigation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 225-236.
    3. Karim Menoufi, 2017. "Dust Accumulation on the Surface of Photovoltaic Panels: Introducing the Photovoltaic Soiling Index (PVSI)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-12, June.
    4. Rehman, Tauseef-ur & Qaisrani, Mumtaz A. & Shafiq, M. Basit & Baba, Yousra Filali & Aslfattahi, Navid & Shahsavar, Amin & Cheema, Taqi Ahmad & Park, Cheol Woo, 2025. "Global perspectives on advancing photovoltaic system performance—A state-of-the-art review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    5. Isaacs, Stewart & Kalashnikova, Olga & Garay, Michael J. & van Donkelaar, Aaron & Hammer, Melanie S. & Lee, Huikyo & Wood, Danielle, 2023. "Dust soiling effects on decentralized solar in West Africa," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    6. Jamil, Wan Juzaili & Abdul Rahman, Hasimah & Shaari, Sulaiman & Salam, Zainal, 2017. "Performance degradation of photovoltaic power system: Review on mitigation methods," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 876-891.
    7. Klugmann-Radziemska, Ewa, 2015. "Degradation of electrical performance of a crystalline photovoltaic module due to dust deposition in northern Poland," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 418-426.
    8. Lu, Hao & Zhao, Wenjun, 2019. "CFD prediction of dust pollution and impact on an isolated ground-mounted solar photovoltaic system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 829-840.
    9. Chanchangi, Yusuf N. & Ghosh, Aritra & Sundaram, Senthilarasu & Mallick, Tapas K., 2020. "Dust and PV Performance in Nigeria: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    10. Ullah, Asad & Imran, Hassan & Maqsood, Zaki & Butt, Nauman Zafar, 2019. "Investigation of optimal tilt angles and effects of soiling on PV energy production in Pakistan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 830-843.
    11. Aritra Ghosh, 2020. "Soiling Losses: A Barrier for India’s Energy Security Dependency from Photovoltaic Power," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, May.
    12. Guan, Yanling & Zhang, Hao & Xiao, Bin & Zhou, Zhi & Yan, Xuzhou, 2017. "In-situ investigation of the effect of dust deposition on the performance of polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 1273-1284.
    13. Alkharusi, Tarik & Huang, Gan & Markides, Christos N., 2024. "Characterisation of soiling on glass surfaces and their impact on optical and solar photovoltaic performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    14. Erdenedavaa, Purevdalai & Akisawa, Atsushi & Adiyabat, Amarbayar & Otgonjanchiv, Erdenesuvd, 2019. "Observation and modeling of dust deposition on glass tube of evacuated solar thermal collectors in Mongolia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 613-621.
    15. Tanesab, Julius & Parlevliet, David & Whale, Jonathan & Urmee, Tania, 2018. "Energy and economic losses caused by dust on residential photovoltaic (PV) systems deployed in different climate areas," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 401-412.
    16. Şevik, Seyfi & Aktaş, Ahmet, 2022. "Performance enhancing and improvement studies in a 600 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant; manual and natural cleaning, rainwater harvesting and the snow load removal on the PV arrays," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 490-503.
    17. Pankaj Borah & Leonardo Micheli & Nabin Sarmah, 2023. "Analysis of Soiling Loss in Photovoltaic Modules: A Review of the Impact of Atmospheric Parameters, Soil Properties, and Mitigation Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-26, December.
    18. Babatunde, A.A. & Abbasoglu, S. & Senol, M., 2018. "Analysis of the impact of dust, tilt angle and orientation on performance of PV Plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 1017-1026.
    19. Song, Zhe & Liu, Jia & Yang, Hongxing, 2021. "Air pollution and soiling implications for solar photovoltaic power generation: A comprehensive review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    20. Lu, Hao & Lu, Lin & Wang, Yuanhao, 2016. "Numerical investigation of dust pollution on a solar photovoltaic (PV) system mounted on an isolated building," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 27-36.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:150:y:2020:i:c:p:456-468. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.