Operation Problems of Solar Panel Caused by the Surface Contamination

Abstract

Solar panels have been widely criticized for their weather dependence and slowly improving efficiency. Several external factors can further increase the efficiency of solar panels, e.g., shading effect and surface contamination. We investigated the warming effect and the negative impact of these factors on energy production during the research. The continuous operation at high temperatures can modify the crystal structure of solar cells in these hot spots. The electroluminescence (EL) images and thermal imaging measurements show crystal structure failure. In addition to structural damage and rapid aging of the solar cells, contaminants can cause power losses of up to 10%.

Electrostatic Tuning of Ionic Charge in SiO2 Dielectric Thin Films

“…The charge retention remained >98% after 500 h for K + and Rb + ions whilst Cs + ions demonstrated 96% charge retention. Considering that operational solar cells do not typically exceed 70 °C, 75,76 the stability demonstrated here shows that ions can withstand thermal stress sufficiently beyond that required. The control samples lost an average of 55% charge after 120 h. After 500 h, there was an increase in the average Q eff of the control samples as well as an increase in the fluctuation in charge.…”