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Performance evaluation of solar photovoltaic panels under bird droppings accumulation using thermography

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Abstract

Bird guano accumulation is one of the environmental issues that could affect the performance degradation of solar photovoltaic modules (SPV). Therefore, the thermal behavior of SPV modules under different accumulations of bird guano (1, 2, 3, and 4 drops) has been investigated and evaluated. Also, the results have been compared with the clean module (control). The study found that the presence of bird guano on the SPV modules created hot spots on the panels’ surface, which increased their working temperature by 5% as compared to the clean module. The higher accumulation of bird guano (4 drops) led to a decrease in the module’s currents by 36–38% as compared to the clean module, while the module’s voltage was slightly affected. In addition, the output power and efficiency of SPV modules under the accumulation of bird guano were found to be lower by 26 and 43%, respectively, as compared to the clean module. These results provide evidence of the performance degradation of the SPV modules by accumulated bird guano, which drives the importance of properly maintaining and servicing the SPV modules. This is possibly achieved through the proper cooling and cleaning process.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agricultural Engineering, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11768, Egypt

    Ahmed Elsayed Mahmoud Fodah, Taha Abdelfattah Mohammed Abdelwahab, Khaled Abdeen Mousa Ali, Yasser Kamal Osman Taha Osman, Mohamed Fawzi Abdelshafie Abuhussein & Gomaa Galal Abd El-wahhab

  2. College of Engineering, South China Agriculture University, Guangzhou, China

    Khaled Abdeen Mousa Ali

Authors
  1. Ahmed Elsayed Mahmoud Fodah
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  2. Taha Abdelfattah Mohammed Abdelwahab
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  5. Mohamed Fawzi Abdelshafie Abuhussein
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  6. Gomaa Galal Abd El-wahhab
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Contributions

FAEM conceptualization, data analysis, methodology, and revision. ATAM conducted the experiments, data analysis, methodology, and revision. AKAM conducted the experiments and wrote-original draft. OYKOT prepared the setup and conducted the experiments. AMFA conducted the experiments. AEGG prepared of the setup, wrote-original draft and conducted the experiments. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ahmed Elsayed Mahmoud Fodah or Taha Abdelfattah Mohammed Abdelwahab.

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Fodah, A.E.M., Abdelwahab, T.A.M., Ali, K.A.M. et al. Performance evaluation of solar photovoltaic panels under bird droppings accumulation using thermography. MRS Energy & Sustainability 11, 150–160 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43581-024-00081-7

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