Investigating the Effect of Dust on the Performance of Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic System

The deposition of particulate matter on the surface of photovoltaic (PV) modules, such as dust, soil, microfibers, and biological organisms like as moss and fungus, is a key contributor to module soiling. Soiling inhibits effective light absorption by the PV module, lowering power output. The aim of this work is to compute the power output when dust accumulates on a Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) system in order to solve the issue of lower power generation caused by soiling. To achieve this, the paper utilizes the soiling ratio, which is determined using the Dust IQ soil monitoring system this device is essential in estimating the soiling ratio, allowing for a thorough investigation of the influence of dust deposition on power output. The primary aim of this study is to undertake a thorough examination of the performance of the Dust IQ soil monitoring system device on a real time data during a span of 4 months. The soiling ratio helps in monitoring the SPV power output when dust is accumulated on the modules and further helps in enabling appropriate cleaning of solar PV arrays. In this paper natural cleaning effect on SPV system performance is considered. The maximum soiling loss assessed due to dust deposition from the analysis is 13.44% emphasizing the significance of minimizing soiling impacts.