Soiling Rate Determination from Referenced Systems in Desert Climate using PVInsight Soiling Algorithm

Elsa Kam-Lum, Bennet E. Meyers, Damien Cosme, Brahim Aissa, Giovanni Scabbia

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present a comparison of two methods to estimate the soiling losses from photovoltaic (PV) system operational data. We evaluate 21 months of data from an outdoor soiling test in a hot, desert climate with a reference system which was cleaned once a week. First, we present an analyst-based result that uses accepted industry practices to estimate trends based on data fit and records of cleaning and storm events, representative of an industry-standard, labor-intensive approach. Second, we present a completely automated analysis, in which the cleaning events are selected through an unsupervised statistical learning algorithm. The algorithm generates estimates of linear soiling rates that are in close agreement with the rates determined by the human analyst, at orders of magnitude faster speed. The speed of processing is particularly advantageous in analysis of multiple setups and long duration data (years of minute(s) data collection).

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2021 IEEE 48th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2021
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages2552-2554
Number of pages3
ISBN (Electronic)9781665419222
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Jun 2021
Event48th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2021 - Fort Lauderdale, United States
Duration: 20 Jun 202125 Jun 2021

Publication series

NameConference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
ISSN (Print)0160-8371

Conference

Conference48th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityFort Lauderdale
Period20/06/2125/06/21

Keywords

  • PVInsight
  • data analysis
  • hot desert climate soiling
  • machine learning
  • soiling
  • solar energy
  • statistical learning

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