Mitigating dust deposition effects on solar panels: an experimental approach using hydrophobic coating and vibration

In the desert of western Rajasthan, deposition of dust on the photovoltaic panels is one of the major concerns that reduces the performance of photovoltaic (PV) panels. One key solution to this problem is to provide a coating on the panels. This coating reduces the adhesion of dust particles to the panel, though it does not actively push the dust away. Another method involves using a vibration mechanism attached to the panel to remove dust particles by gravity. Therefore, this investigation aims to experimentally evaluate the effect of applying a hydrophobic coating combined with a mechanical vibrator on panel performance. Three photovoltaic panels are used in this investigation. The first panel is regarded as a reference panel where no coating or vibration is applied. On the second panel, a hydrophobic coating is applied, and this panel is taken as the coated panel, while, along with the hydrophobic coating, a mechanical vibrator is also attached to the back side of the third panel. The experimental findings indicated that after a week of exposure, the electrical efficiency of the reference panel reduced by 13.59%, the coated panel by 5.72%, and the panel with both coating and mechanical vibration by 2.4%. Additionally, compared to the reference panel, the coated panel and the panel with both coating and mechanical vibration showed efficiency improvements of 9% and 13%, respectively. Furthermore, the vibration system demonstrated a 1.11% increase in panel efficiency after just 2 min of operation. The results indicate that the use of a mechanical vibrator with a panel resulted in an improvement in the performance of PV panels along with the use of coating.