Design of a Low-Cost Multiplexer for the Study of the Impact of Soiling on PV Panel Performance

Atmospheric factors, such as clouds, wind, dust, or aerosols, play an important role in the power generation of photovoltaic (PV) plants. Among these factors, soiling has been revealed as one of the most relevant causes diminishing the PV yield, mainly in arid zones or deserts. The effect of soiling...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energies (Basel) 2021-07, Vol.14 (14), p.4186
Main Authors: López, Gabriel, Ramírez, Diego, Alonso-Montesinos, Joaquín, Sarmiento, Juan, Polo, Jesús, Martín-Chivelet, Nuria, Marzo, Aitor, Batlles, Francisco Javier, Ferrada, Pablo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerosols
Arid zones
Clouds
Dust
Electric currents
Humidity
I–V curves
Low cost
multiplexer
Multiplexers
Multiplexing
Outdoors
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaics
PV plants monitoring
soiling
Soils
Solar energy
Tracers
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Summary:Atmospheric factors, such as clouds, wind, dust, or aerosols, play an important role in the power generation of photovoltaic (PV) plants. Among these factors, soiling has been revealed as one of the most relevant causes diminishing the PV yield, mainly in arid zones or deserts. The effect of soiling on the PV performance can be analyzed by means of I–V curves measured simultaneously on two PV panels: one soiled and the other clean. To this end, two I–V tracers, or one I–V tracer along with a multiplexer, are needed. Unfortunately, these options are usually expensive, and only one I–V tracer is typically available at the site of interest. In this work, the design of a low-cost multiplexer is described. The multiplexer is controlled by a low-cost single-board microcontroller manufactured by ArduinoTM, and is capable of managing several pairs of PV panels almost simultaneously. The multiplexer can be installed outdoors, in contrast to many commercial I–V tracers or multiplexers. This advantage allows the soiling effect to be monitored on two PV panels, by means of I–V indoor tracers. I–V curves measured by the low-cost multiplexer are also presented, and preliminary results are analyzed.
ISSN:1996-1073
1996-1073
DOI:10.3390/en14144186