Environmental effects on a grid connected 900 W photovoltaic thin-film amorphous silicon system

This study analyses the performance of a small scale, grid connected, thin-film, amorphous silicon photovoltaic system located in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). It was observed that due to the sandy environment dust accumulated relatively quickly over a short period of time, significantly degrading the performance of the system. Relating to this local natural phenomenon, the amount of solar irradiance the system was exposed to shows the greatest effect on performance. The effect of ambient temperature and humidity were considered and displayed slight effects on the output of the system, and it was observed that a significant loss in power occurred through the inverter. Also observed in reducing the performance of the system was the Staebler-Wronski effect, a phenomenon inherent to amorphous silicon, which reduces the overall output of the system after exposure to light over an extended period of time.