INFLUENCE OF SURFACE CONTAMINATION ON THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF THE SOLAR MODULE

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the influence of coating contamination from materials characteristic of the Lithuanian environment on the energy efficiency of the solar module. The research was carried out in a self-made electricity production stand with an artificial lighting source. The solar module (20 W) was illuminated by four metal halogen lamps with a total power of 140 W. On the glass covering the entire area of the module, 0 g to 25 g of material was sprinkled using a sieve, increasing the amount in increments of 5 g. Materials used in the study: black soil, lakeshore sand, silicate block dust, ground oats. During the experiment, the surface temperature of the module was 25 ± 1 °C. Tests are performed 5 times and the average of their results is given with the error value. During the study, it was found that increasing the amount of material sprinkled on the surface of the module decreases the voltage and current with all the materials used. The minimum power generated by the module of 0.017 ± 0.002 W is obtained by contamination of the surface with 25 g of black earth. In comparison, the maximum power of 1.37 ± 0.02 W of the 25 g lakeshore sand on the module surface is 79 times higher. The energy loss of the module contaminated with 25 g of lake shore sand was 40.85 ± 1.31 %, which is 1.05 times lower than that of the module contaminated with 5 g of ground oats 43.02 ± 1.8 %. With increasing surface contamination, the module efficiency decreased from 6.29 ± 0.07 % to 0.04 ± 0.01 %. As the amount of materials on the surface increases, the light transmission decreases with all materials used in the study