Experimental study for the effect of dust cleaning on the performance of grid-tied photovoltaic solar systems

One of the challenges facing investment in photovoltaic (PV) energy is the accumulation of dust on the surface of the PV panels due to frequent dust storms in many countries, including Iraq. Surface dust particles reduce solar irradiance which declining the electrical performance of the PV solar systems. Therefore, this paper proposes an experimental study to analyze and evaluate the power efficiency of a PV system installed in Baghdad city, Iraq. The performance of dusty solar PV array is compared with that of the clean array of the same PV system. The clean solar array is equipped with an automatic-sprayer cleaning system that is powered by the PV system. The automatic cleaning system utilized in the test system reduces human effort by cleaning the PV array using closed-cycle water with low energy consumption (less than 10 Wh). The PV array under test is part of a 15 kW grid-tied PV system. The experimental results show significant improvement in the performance parameters of efficiency, performance ratio, and the energy gain compared to the clean array. Furthermore, the experimental study contributes to a reduction in CO2 emission, which is substantial for the Iraqi environment that suffers from predominate fossil-fuel power plants.