Soiling Services of PV and Solar Systems
The boom in the photovoltaic and solar thermal energy means that in Germany some 2.4 million photovoltaic and solar power systems are now installed. There has resulted in an enormous module and collector area totalling more than 160,000.000 m2 (Sources: Photon 10/2010 and BSWSolar). This huge surface area is located out-of-doors and is therefore exposed to a multitude of sources of dirt. In common with every car, skylight and window, photovoltaic and solar power systems are also prone to dirt. There are a number of factors at play in this context and these are explained below.
Causes for the soiling of PV and solar power syste...
Causes for the soiling of PV and solar power systems 1: Location and roof inclination
Not all systems become soiled equally fast or as severely. There are various factors that accelerate soiling.
Location
The first of these is the location or installation site of the photovoltaic system and solar power system. Systems in proximity to sources of dirt (cf. 'causes') usually become soiled more easily and faster than systems in 'clean' locations. Attention should be paid, even during the actual planning phase itself, to ensuring that there are no overly strong sources of dirt in the vicinity of the photovoltaic or solar power system. One classic example is siting a PV system on a pig sty. In such cases system owners frequently experience significant efforts and costs in relation to cleaning. Without cleaning, the system would not even begin to be profitable!
Systems with a north/east/west orientation. Experience shows that PV and solar power systems that do not enjoy an ideal orientation are, in numerous cases, more frequently prone to colonisation by pioneer plants.
Roof inclination
Apart from location and orientation, the inclination of the roof has a part to the play in the soiling of solar and photovoltaic systems. The basic rule is: the flatter the inclination, the faster and worse the soiling. The reason for this is that the self-cleaning of systems functions better, the steeper they are. In such cases the dirt is comparatively more difficult to dislocate.
Causes for the soiling of PV and solar power syste...
Causes for the soiling of PV and solar power systems 2: Sources of dirt and types of soiling
Photovoltaic and solar power systems are situation outside and are therefore exposes to numerous substances that cause soiling. These include:
- Limescale deposits caused by incorrectly using tap water for cleaning!! (Clean your system with demineralised water)!
- Leaves and needles from neighbouring trees
- Sticky organic secretions from larvae from neighbouring trees
- Pollen and seeds from grasses and trees
- Rust from heater and motors
- Dust from industrial-related air contamination
- Dust from roads and train tracks
- Dust and organic substances from stall aeration (from agriculture in general)
- Feedstuff dust from agriculture
- Growth from pioneer plants such as lichens, algae, mosses on seals and on the glass
- Insects and their remains and waste
- Bird droppings
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