Determination of dust density on photovoltaic panels by image processing

The increase in energy demand every day makes the trend to alternative energy sources compulsory. Photovoltaic (PV) is one of the alternative energy methods. The efficiency of PV systems is significantly affected by environmental factors such as temperature and panel pollution. It is important to identify adverse factors in improving the performance of PV systems. In this thesis study, it tried to determine the pollution of the PV panels by using image processing techniques. The study was carried out in four stages as the establishment of the PV system, obtain of electrical data and images, the development of image processing software and the evaluation of the results. In the PV system, two equal panels was used one of which is left to be pollution naturally and the other is kept clean to be used for reference values. The results obtained from the calculation of electrical data with image processing results were separately shown in tables and graphs, and these results were evaluated.