Except in places like Ooty and Darjeeling, India is predominantly a hot country. That means, we not only receive abundant sun's heat, but we also receive abundant sun-light (almost throughout the year), which is essential for producing power through solar modules. Below, you'll find five ways in which the efficiency of solar power plants/solar modules can be increased in a hot country like India.
#1. Dust accumulation on solar-modules can result in lower power generation, sometimes as much as 25% less. That's one good reason why solar modules need to be cleaned regularly.
#2. Very high temperature (especially during summers) can reduce the efficiency of solar modules (especially crystalline solar). Cooling solar modules, using techniques like water-flow over the front of each module (for example) can increase the solar panel efficiency by mitigating the effect of heat.
#3. Monitoring of individual modules or a group of modules for consistent performance is very critical. If one module's efficiency (in a group) is low or if the module goes down, it can affect the power generation output of the entire group.
#4. Thin-film solar modules are low-cost and better-suited for hot climates like India, as higher-temperature does not affect them as much as it affects crystalline modules. But the relative efficiency of thin-film modules is lesser and they take up more space (than crystalline modules) for the same capacity. If land-availability/cost is not a major issue, you could look at going with thin-film solar modules over crystalline solar modules, especially in hot climates.
#5. Module-level Single and Dual-Axis trackers can change the orientation of solar panels in real-time and will enable each solar module to get maximum sun-light exposure throughout the day, thereby increasing their power output/efficiency. The only limitation to this approach is the higher initial cost required to buy and install trackers for each solar module. But, the total number of solar modules required for a certain capacity is lesser, if solar trackers are installed.
Do you know any other technique that can increase the efficiency of solar modules? Tell us using the comments section, below.
