Investigation of the Impact of Soot on the Efficiency of Solar Panels using a Smart Intelligent Monitoring System

Abstract

Globally there has been an increase in the rate of acceptance of solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems because they are a source of green energy and contribute significantly to the reduction of global warming. Regardless, there are environmental factors that affect the efficiency of the solar PV systems in different parts of the world. Rivers state located in southern Nigeria is dealing with air pollution and a high level of soot production as a result of the proliferation of illegal refineries. The presence of soot has had a significant negative impact on the environment. The cost of maintaining solar PV systems has risen. This work focuses on determining the impact of soot on solar panels with the goal of increasing the efficiency of power generated in Rivers State Nigeria using smart intelligent monitoring system which involved using (Internet of Things) IOT edge to cloud analytics. The work consists of analysing data collected at the cloud level under two conditions: soot free and soot polluted condition to determine the effect of soot on the panel temperature of the solar photovoltaic system. A comparison of the two reveals that the temperature of the solar panel under sooty condition is higher than that under a soot free condition. The presence of soot reduces solar panel output 27.8%. as a result, PV systems installed in such environment will require more frequent maintenance than counterparts installed in non-sooty environments.