Does dust affect the performance of the solar panels?

Yes, the dust does affect the performance of the solar panels.

But in my case the results were surprising.

The solar panels are installed outside usually on the roof of the house or the building.

When sunlight falls on their surface, they convert it into electricity.

With time, the dust in the air accumulates over the solar panels’ surface.

This layer prevents the solar panels from absorbing the sunlight effectively.

Hence, deteriorates their output.

The thicker the layer, the more is the deterioration in output power.

The Experiment

Aim:

To find the deterioration in the solar panels’ performance by comparing their output with clean surface and with dust.

To find the effect of the dust on the their performance.

I let the dust settle over the panels’ surface for 5 days.

Then on October 5, 2023, I observed the performance of a 5-kW solar power system from sunrise to sunset.

The solar panels with dust on their surface made 25 kWh or 25 units on that day.

Then on the same evening, I washed their surface with water.

So, prepare them for the next day to absorb sunlight with a clean surface.

On October 6, 2023, I observed the solar panels’ power output again. In the evening I was surprised to see the total energy produced was the solar panels.

It was the same as that of the previous day when their surface was covered with dust.

It was 25 kWh.

It means there was no reduction in the power despite the dust accumulation.

The Reason

Now, it was time to find the reason behind this surprising result.

The first question that came into my mind.

Was the dust layer thick enough?

Although I let the dust accumulate on the solar panels’ surface for 5 days.

And in all those 5 days, there was no rain.

Therefore, the chance of natural cleaning is eliminated.

Moreover, the October month in North India is often dry and air usually moves a bit faster.

Giving all the favorable reasons for the dust accumulating over the panels’ surface and affecting their performance.

The most probable reason: The technology of the solar panels

What was it that made the solar panels maintain their performance despite dust?

The technology of solar panels overshadowed the effect of dust accumulation by a great margin.

Our solar panels are half-cut monocrystalline.

The monocrystalline solar panels are more efficient than the polycrystalline ones.

And when half-cut technology is embedded into them, making them even more efficient.

Read: How to know the efficiency of the solar panel?

Now, they are capable of maintaining their performance even under slight shade or with a layer of dust up to a certain thickness.

The technology of solar panels has given me the option to reduce the cleaning frequency without actually affecting their performance due to the dust.

In this month, I think cleaning the solar panels once a week would be sufficient.

And I know this frequency is not fixed for the other months.

There are months like March, April, and May when the wind currents’ velocity increases carrying more dust with them.

Then you need to wash them more often maybe twice a week (double the frequency of the October month).

Which I will discuss and share with you.

Conclusion

Yes, the dust layer over the solar panels’ surface does affect their performance.

However, the technology improves their light-absorbing capacity.

It makes them capable of maintaining their performance even with a dust layer up to a certain thickness.

The technology of the solar panels has failed my experiment.

They performed equally well with dusty surfaces and clean surfaces.

I have no proof that dust affects the performance of the solar panels.

Maybe next time I will let dust accumulate over the solar panels surface for even more days say 10 or 12.