Mathematical Modelling of a System for Solar PV Efficiency Improvement Using Compressed Air for Panel Cleaning and Cooling

• Published in: Energies (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 14; p. 4072
• Main Authors: King, Marcus, Li, Dacheng, Dooner, Mark, Ghosh, Saikat, Roy, Jatindra Nath, Chakraborty, Chandan, Wang, Jihong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-07-2021
• Subjects: Air temperature; Clean energy; Cleaning; Compressed air; Compression; Cooling; Efficiency; Energy; Flow rates; Flow velocity; Geometry; High temperature; Magnetic fields; mathematical modelling; Mathematical models; Photovoltaics; renewable energy; solar photovoltaics; Solar power; Solar radiation
• ISSN: 1996-1073; 1996-1073
• DOI: 10.3390/en14144072

The efficiency of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels is greatly reduced by panel soiling and high temperatures. A mechanism for eliminating both of these sources of inefficiencies is presented by integrating solar PV generation with a compressed air system. High-pressure air can be stored and used to blow over the surface of PV panels, removing present dust and cooling the panels, increasing output power. A full-system mathematical model of the proposed system is presented, comprised of compressed air generation and storage, panel temperature, panel cleaning, and PV power generation. Simulation results indicate the benefit of employing compressed air for cleaning and cooling solar PV panels. For a fixed volume of compressed air, it is advantageous to blow air over the panels early in the day if the panel is soiled or when solar radiation is most abundant with the highest achievable flow rate if the panel is clean. These strategies have been shown to achieve the greatest energy captures for a single PV panel. When comparing the energy for air compression to the energy gain from cleaning a single PV over a two-week period, an energy ROI of 23.8 is determined. The system has the potential to eliminate the requirement for additional manual cleaning of solar PV panels.