STM Article Repository

This chapter highlights about the weather conditions of using this new mitigation technique on the efficiency of the PV panel in both seasons. Solar PV modules are exposed to outdoor environments where dust accumulation is a prime degrading factor. Soiling and its effect on performance of solar modules are generally of high concern for regions with a high deposition of dust and low frequency and less intensity of rain. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), dust buildup on photovoltaic (PV) panels poses a serious hazard and reduces their effectiveness. Due to limited water supplies and high rates of dust collection throughout the year, cleaning PV panels has always been difficult in the majority of these countries. A new dust mitigation technique has been developed in this research, which consists of a wind shield, antistatic hydrophilic coating and a mechanical vibrator. The objective of this research is to study the weather conditions on the performance of this new dust mitigation technique for PV panels that operate street light posts. Two experiments were conducted for six weeks in 2021; the first one was in winter while the other one was in summer. Two PV panels were investigated in each tests. The second panel is equipped with a mechanical vibrator, a wind screen, and an antistatic hydrophilic coating in addition to serving as a comparison panel for the first PV panel. The wind shield's purpose is to prevent the wind from the south from blowing. The antistatic coating prevents the dust particles from adhering to the panel's surface. The role of the mechanical vibrator is to shake off the deposited dust particles on the panel’s surface. The experimental results show that applying the antistatic coating together with the wind shield with vibrating the panel in case of the winter experiment preserved the efficiency of the panel, such that the drop in efficiency did not exceed the maintenance limit of 10% during the experiment. It was shown that the percentage drop in efficiency in case of the shielded panel in the winter experiment did not exceed 10% during the 6 weeks of operation, and this duration is expected to increase to a longer period i.e. 8 weeks. While, the percentage drop in efficiency in case of the shielded panel in the summer experiment exceeded the 10% in the 5th week. Study alos demonstrates unequivocally that the wind screen, mechanical vibrator, and coating are an effective dust mitigation technique for PV panels running light posts, particularly in the winter.