IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i2p608-d308500.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental Impacts on the Performance of Solar Photovoltaic Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Ramadan J. Mustafa

    (Mechanical Department, Faculty of Engineering, Mutah University, Al-Karak 61710, Jordan)

  • Mohamed R. Gomaa

    (Mechanical Department, Benha Faculty of Engineering, Benha University, Benha 13512, Egypt
    Mechanical Department, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Hussein Bin Talal University, Ma’an 71111, Jordan)

  • Mujahed Al-Dhaifallah

    (Systems Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia)

  • Hegazy Rezk

    (College of Engineering at Wadi Addawaser, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Wadi Addawaser 11991, Saudi Arabia
    Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Minia University, Minya 61519, Egypt)

Abstract

This study scrutinizes the reliability and validity of existing analyses that focus on the impact of various environmental factors on a photovoltaic (PV) system’s performance. For the first time, four environmental factors (the accumulation of dust, water droplets, birds’ droppings, and partial shading conditions) affecting system performance are investigated, simultaneously, in one study. The results obtained from this investigation demonstrate that the accumulation of dust, shading, and bird fouling has a significant effect on PV current and voltage, and consequently, the harvested PV energy. ‘Shading’ had the strongest influence on the efficiency of the PV modules. It was found that increasing the area of shading on a PV module surface by a quarter, half, and three quarters resulted in a power reduction of 33.7%, 45.1%, and 92.6%, respectively. However, results pertaining to the impact of water droplets on the PV panel had an inverse effect, decreasing the temperature of the PV panel, which led to an increase in the potential difference and improved the power output by at least 5.6%. Moreover, dust accumulation reduced the power output by 8.80% and the efficiency by 11.86%, while birds fouling the PV module surface was found to reduce the PV system performance by about 7.4%.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramadan J. Mustafa & Mohamed R. Gomaa & Mujahed Al-Dhaifallah & Hegazy Rezk, 2020. "Environmental Impacts on the Performance of Solar Photovoltaic Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:608-:d:308500
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/2/608/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/2/608/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zeki Ahmed Darwish & Hussein A. Kazem & K. Sopian & M. A. Alghoul & Hussain Alawadhi, 2018. "Experimental investigation of dust pollutants and the impact of environmental parameters on PV performance: an experimental study," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 155-174, February.
    2. Thamer Alquthami & Karim Menoufi, 2019. "Soiling of Photovoltaic Modules: Comparing between Two Distinct Locations within the Framework of Developing the Photovoltaic Soiling Index (PVSI)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-13, August.
    3. Kaldellis, J.K. & Kapsali, M., 2011. "Simulating the dust effect on the energy performance of photovoltaic generators based on experimental measurements," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 5154-5161.
    4. Conceição, Ricardo & Silva, Hugo G. & Fialho, Luis & Lopes, Francis M. & Collares-Pereira, Manuel, 2019. "PV system design with the effect of soiling on the optimum tilt angle," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 787-796.
    5. Mohamed, Mohamed A. & Zaki Diab, Ahmed A. & Rezk, Hegazy, 2019. "Partial shading mitigation of PV systems via different meta-heuristic techniques," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 1159-1175.
    6. Saber, Esmail M. & Lee, Siew Eang & Manthapuri, Sumanth & Yi, Wang & Deb, Chirag, 2014. "PV (photovoltaics) performance evaluation and simulation-based energy yield prediction for tropical buildings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 588-595.
    7. Darwish, Zeki Ahmed & Kazem, Hussein A. & Sopian, K. & Al-Goul, M.A. & Alawadhi, Hussain, 2015. "Effect of dust pollutant type on photovoltaic performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 735-744.
    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. Ramli, Makbul A.M. & Prasetyono, Eka & Wicaksana, Ragil W. & Windarko, Novie A. & Sedraoui, Khaled & Al-Turki, Yusuf A., 2016. "On the investigation of photovoltaic output power reduction due to dust accumulation and weather conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 836-844.
    10. Ayompe, L.M. & Duffy, A. & McCormack, S.J. & Conlon, M., 2010. "Validated real-time energy models for small-scale grid-connected PV-systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 4086-4091.
    11. Ghazi, Sanaz & Ip, Kenneth, 2014. "The effect of weather conditions on the efficiency of PV panels in the southeast of UK," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 50-59.
    12. Boyle, L. & Flinchpaugh, H. & Hannigan, M.P., 2015. "Natural soiling of photovoltaic cover plates and the impact on transmission," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 166-173.
    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. 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).
    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. Fan, Siyuan & Wang, Yu & Cao, Shengxian & Sun, Tianyi & Liu, Peng, 2021. "A novel method for analyzing the effect of dust accumulation on energy efficiency loss in photovoltaic (PV) system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Yao, Wanxiang & Kong, Xiangru & Xu, Ai & Xu, Puyan & Wang, Yan & Gao, Weijun, 2023. "New models for the influence of rainwater on the performance of photovoltaic modules under different rainfall conditions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    8. 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).
    9. Elias Roumpakias & Tassos Stamatelos, 2020. "Surface Dust and Aerosol Effects on the Performance of Grid-Connected Photovoltaic Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    10. Xingcai, Li & Kun, Niu, 2018. "Effectively predict the solar radiation transmittance of dusty photovoltaic panels through Lambert-Beer law," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 634-638.
    11. Ali Hasan Shah & Ahmed Hassan & Mohammad Shakeel Laghari & Abdulrahman Alraeesi, 2020. "The Influence of Cleaning Frequency of Photovoltaic Modules on Power Losses in the Desert Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-15, November.
    12. Li, Xianli & Zhang, Xinya & Wang, Zhiyuan & Wang, Changfeng & Yao, Wanxiang & Xu, Xin & Zheng, Shaojuan, 2022. "Dust accumulation effect of glazing cover inner surface on the performance of transpired solar air collector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 648-656.
    13. Fan, Siyuan & Wang, Yu & Cao, Shengxian & Zhao, Bo & Sun, Tianyi & Liu, Peng, 2022. "A deep residual neural network identification method for uneven dust accumulation on photovoltaic (PV) panels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PD).
    14. Huang, Pengluan & Hu, Guoqiang & Zhao, Xiaodong & Lu, Luyi & Ding, Honggang & Li, Jianlan, 2022. "Effect of organics on the adhesion of dust to PV panel surfaces under condensation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    15. Rafi Zahedi & Parisa Ranjbaran & Gevork B. Gharehpetian & Fazel Mohammadi & Roya Ahmadiahangar, 2021. "Cleaning of Floating Photovoltaic Systems: A Critical Review on Approaches from Technical and Economic Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-25, April.
    16. Picotti, G. & Borghesani, P. & Cholette, M.E. & Manzolini, G., 2018. "Soiling of solar collectors – Modelling approaches for airborne dust and its interactions with surfaces," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2343-2357.
    17. Chiteka, Kudzanayi & Arora, Rajesh & Sridhara, S.N. & Enweremadu, C.C., 2021. "Influence of irradiance incidence angle and installation configuration on the deposition of dust and dust-shading of a photovoltaic array," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    18. Ramli, Makbul A.M. & Prasetyono, Eka & Wicaksana, Ragil W. & Windarko, Novie A. & Sedraoui, Khaled & Al-Turki, Yusuf A., 2016. "On the investigation of photovoltaic output power reduction due to dust accumulation and weather conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 836-844.
    19. 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.
    20. Idris Al Siyabi & Arwa Al Mayasi & Aiman Al Shukaili & Sourav Khanna, 2021. "Effect of Soiling on Solar Photovoltaic Performance under Desert Climatic Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, January.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:608-:d:308500. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.