Improving solar PV performance under bird-dropping conditions with a dual-cooling approach

Area of Science:

• Renewable Energy
• Materials Science
• Thermal Engineering

Background:

• Solar photovoltaic (SPV) panel degradation impacts adoption and efficiency.
• Contamination, such as bird droppings, exacerbates performance issues.
• Effective cooling strategies are needed to maintain optimal SPV operation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel dual-cooling technique for SPV panels.
• To assess the impact of this cooling method on panel performance under bird dropping contamination.
• To quantify improvements in temperature, power output, and efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a dual-cooling system targeting both front and backside of SPV panels.
• Comparative analysis of temperatures, output current, voltage, power, and efficiency.
• Evaluation under conditions of bird dropping contamination versus controlled environments.

Main Results:

• Cooling reduced front and backside temperatures by 24-47% and 34-48%, respectively.
• Output current and voltage increased by 8-9% and 7-9% with cooling.
• Output power increased by 12-33% (vs. contaminated) and 7-12% (vs. controlled); efficiency rose from 15% to 20%.

Conclusions:

• The dual-cooling technique effectively mitigates performance degradation caused by bird droppings.
• Significant enhancements in SPV panel power output and efficiency were achieved.
• This method shows strong potential for improving large-scale solar photovoltaic installations.