Soiling correction model for long term energy prediction in photovoltaic modules

A model is presented for predicting photovoltaic energy generation including dust effects. A combination of MATLAB and SMARTS is used to allow for global as well as spectral effects of dust accumulation. The model takes cell technology spectral dependency, outdoor weather elements, possible rain cleaning and the number of times the module is cleaned into consideration. The model is then validated by means of comparison with outdoor data. A Monte-Carlo analysis was used to predict the long term effects of dust for a given climates. Different installation configuration scenarios where simulated to further improve the correction model where the simulated results showed an improvement of 66% in the simulated - dust corrected annual energy data for horizontal installation configuration.