The Simultaneous Impacts of Seasonal Weather and Solar Conditions on PV Panels Electrical Characteristics

Abstract

Solar energy usage is thriving day by day. These solar panels are installed to absorb solar energy and produce electrical energy. As a result, the efficiency of solar panels depends on different environmental factors, namely, air temperature, dust (aerosols and accumulated dust), and solar incidence, and photovoltaic panel angles. The effects of real conditions factors on power and efficiency of photovoltaic panels are studied in this paper through testing the panel in real environmental tests. To study the mentioned parameters precisely, two panels with different angles are used. The case study is regarding a region of Tehran, Iran, in summer and winter seasons. The results show that panel efficiency during winter is higher than summer due to air temperature decrement. It is discovered that among air pollutants, Al and Fe have the most share in polluting the air that affect the photovoltaic efficiency. Moreover, measuring the accumulated dust on the panels shows more amount in winter in comparison with summer. The important point in studying the effect of tilt angle is that inconformity between solar incidence and photovoltaic panel angles would result in solar radiation absorption and eventually panel efficiency loss and also, photovoltaic panel installation angle would affect the amount of dust deposited on its surface.