INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT OF BLACK SOOT DEPOSITION ON PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SOLAR PANEL OUTPUT EFFICIENCY IN AGBOR METROPOLIS, DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

The solar photovoltaic (PV) panel is one of the fundamental components that are used to harness the operation of solar power system. However, its performance is dependent greatly on certain environmental factors and location. This research was focused to investigate the effect of black soot on the output efficiency of solar photovoltaic (PV) panel. The basic studies and operational activity was carried out at a building located in Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria (longitude 6.201883 N and latitude 5.6037 E and 86.16m elevations above the sea level). The major materials used for this research include the following; two (2) monocrystalline solar panels (one served as a control ‘clean’ while the other as a device under test ‘sooty’ and a multimeter. The multimeter was used to measure parameters like: short-circuit current ISC and open-circuit voltage VOC while the output power and percentage (%) losses were computed using the measured values. This operation was carried out for a period of three (3) months and the mean values were obtained. From the obtained values, the maximum value of VOC for the control module is 35.7V at12 midday while the corresponding value for the sooty module is 34.3V at the same time. Typically, the total daily output power for the control module was 7103.15W while the corresponding value for the sooty solar module was 4827.38W. This presents 32.04% loss in the power output due to black soot on the surface of the solar panel. Cumulatively, the total output power loss daily ranges from 32.04% to 63.90%.