Investigation of the effects of cooling and dust accumulation on the power output andefficiency of photovoltaic panels

In this study, experimental and numerical tests were performed on the conventional photovoltaic (PV) panels to investigate the effects of pulsed water spray cooling systems on the efficiency of the PV panels. The average outside temperature and solar radiation levels during the study were 39°C and 920W/m2, respectively. Experimental results showed that the temperatures of the PV panel with dust and water-cooled system are 57.5°C, and 36.5°C, respectively. It is noted that the highest temperatures of the PV panel on which dust accumulated with different weights of 200 gr., 300 gr., 400 gr., and 500 gr., reached the levels of 57°C, 57°C, 60°C, and 63.4°C, respectively. It is investigated that the water-cooled PV system decreased the panel temperature to 34°C. The paired model developed analytically and numerically was solved using MATLAB software by using PV module equations, and the manufacturing data sheet to evaluate the overall performance of the panels. Simulation results indicate an increase in electrical efficiency from 19% for the dusty panel to 37% for the clean panel at 10:00 Am using the pulsed water spray system. In the case of the cooled and cleaned PV system with water, the open circuit voltage and short circuit current were increased by 8.5% and 6%, respectively. Experimentally, the overall efficiency of a cooling PV panel by pulsed spray system 13.7% while traditional PV panel efficiency was 13%.