Energy 263 (2023) 126083

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Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Characteristics and cleaning methods of dust deposition on solar

photovoltaic modules-A review
Beihua He a, Hao Lu a, b, *, Chuanxiao Zheng a, Yanlin Wang c
a
Laboratory of Clean Energy, School of Electrical Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830047, China
b
School of Future Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830047, China
c
Shenzhen Ruilongyuan Electronics Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, 818000, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Carbon neutrality has become a global consensus for green development, and solar photovoltaic power gener­
Photovoltaic power generation ation has increasingly become one of the key technologies for carbon reduction. Large-scale photovoltaic power
Dust deposition plants are often built in arid and sandy areas, which carry a large number of dust particles in the air. Dust
Influencing factors
deposition on photovoltaic modules has a significant impact on the transmittance, temperature, and roughness of
Methods of cleaning
Self-cleaning coatings
photovoltaic modules, reducing their power generation efficiency and service life. The paper has the following
structure: i) relevant research all over the world; ii) the mechanism of dust deposition and the influencing factors
on photovoltaic modules; and, iii) some current methods of cleaning are summarized, and the mechanism of self-
cleaning coatings for dust deposition prevention. It is found that the process of dust deposition is accomplished
dynamically and repeatedly under the joint action of several forces. And the diameter of the particle, the
installation angle of photovoltaic modules and wind speed have a great influence on the behavior of dust
deposition. Self-cleaning coatings have an obvious effect on the prevention of dust deposition. The paper also
looks forward to future research methods of particle deposition and cleaning on photovoltaic modules.

1. Introduction the most powerful driver of carbon neutrality.

The Paris Agreement, which was adopted by 200 countries and re­
gions in December 2015 in Paris, defines the global climate governance
mechanism and action arrangements for 2020–2030. The parties to the
Agreement will work together to address global climate change by
holding the increase in global average temperature below 2 ◦ C above the
preindustrial level and to work towards the goal of 1.5 ◦ C. Reach peak
greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve net-zero
greenhouse gas emissions by the second half of this century. Countries
have responded to join the ranks of “Carbon Peak & Carbon Neutrality”
and energy saving. Emission reduction has become an important indi­
cator of development, and clean energy (e.g., solar energy, wind energy,
hydro-power and geothermal energy) is uncontaminated. It plays an
important role in green development. Solar energy is the most abundant
source because it brings abundant energy to the earth for free in the form
of heat and light. The utilization of solar energy will not have any
detrimental effects on the ecosystem, and the photovoltaic system can be
effectively used in rural, industrial, commercial, household and other
environments [1–5]. Therefore, photovoltaic power generation will be
The review investigates a global phenomenon that dust deposition on
photovoltaic modules reduces power generation efficiency. With the
increase in installed solar capacity, more and more attention has been
paid to studying it. Therefore, the characteristics of dust deposition were
studied by analyzing the deposition mechanism, the deposition behavior
forces and the influencing factors of dust deposition. To alleviate the
impact of dust deposition on photovoltaic modules, the review also
summarizes some current dust removal methods. Through researching
the mechanism and comparison of their benefits and drawbacks, it is
found that the self-cleaning coating has a great promising future.
2. Installed solar capacity
2.1. Worldwide
Fig. 1 shows the global installed capacity of solar photovoltaic power
generation from 2011 to 2021 [6]. As shown in the figure, the installed
capacity is increasing year by year, from 72.216 GW in 2011 to 843.086
GW in 2021. According to the forecast by the International Energy

* Corresponding author. Laboratory of Clean Energy, School of Electrical Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830047, China.
E-mail address: luhao@xju.edu.cn (H. Lu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2022.126083
Received 23 April 2022; Received in revised form 22 July 2022; Accepted 10 November 2022
Available online 12 November 2022
0360-5442/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
B. He et al.
Fig. 1. The global installed capacity of solar PV power generation from 2011 to
2021 [6].
Agency, the global installed solar power generation capacity is expected
to exceed 1700 GW by 2030 [7].
2.2. Regional
As shown in Fig. 2, China has become the world’s largest solar
photovoltaic market since 2015, with a total installed capacity of
306.403 GW in 2021, and an additional 52.985 GW of installed capacity
in just one year [8]. With the continuous deepening of green develop­
ment awareness, China has made carbon peak and carbon neutrality one
of the eight key tasks to be done in 2021, and has made it clear that
carbon dioxide emissions will peak by 2030, and strive to achieve car­
bon neutrality by 2060. Photovoltaic power generation in China is still
in a trend of accelerated development [9].
2.3. Literature
Dust is produced from desert storms, volcanic eruptions, industrial
emissions, construction debris, road activities, vehicle emissions, mi­
croorganisms, pollen, plant matter, dander and other sources [10]. As
the most common tiny particles matter in the atmosphere, it has a great
impact on photovoltaic power generation. As shown in Table 1, many
countries have researched the impact of dust deposition on photovoltaic
modules.
3. Dust deposition behavioral forces
3.1. Solar panel structure
Fig. 3 (a) is the structure of solar cells. The components from top to
bottom are cover glass, EVA, battery, EVA and back sheet. In addition,
the aluminum metal frame accounts for about 36% of the panel’s
weight, holding all the layers together [35]. Fig. 3 (b) is the schematic
Fig. 2. China’s total installed capacity from 2011 to 2021 [8].
2
Energy 263 (2023) 126083
diagram of the influence of the dust layer on incident solar radiation.
Due to the deposition of dust on the glass surface of photovoltaic mod­
ules, the power output is significantly reduced. The reduction is mainly
due to the dust layer reflecting or absorbing a portion of the incident
solar radiation, which is converted into heat and transported to the
photovoltaic module [36].
3.2. Dust deposition behavioral forces
The deposition of particles on photovoltaic modules is influenced by
gravity and several types of force: van der Waals, liquid and electric
field. Dust particles leave the panel under strong separation force which
includes contact and resistance. When the electric field force is domi­
nant occurs frequent collision and deposits particles on panels; and,
when gravity is dominant, large particles tend to deposit. Due to the
strong adhesion of the liquid bridge, the moist dust particles adhere to
the panel, with a significant negative influence on its performance.
Decreasing deposition force or increasing separation force can signifi­
cantly reduce dust deposition on photovoltaic panels [32,33].
As shown in Fig. 4, under the combined action of turbulent diffusion,
Brownian diffusion, gravity deposition, turbulent swimming effect and
thermophoresis effect, dust particles adhere, rebound, accumulate and
resuspend on photovoltaic modules. Dust accumulates dynamically and
repeatedly and forms a dust layer. Figgis et al. pointed out that depo­
sition refers to the process of airborne particles migrating to photovol­
taic modules, whether they adhere to the surface or not. Small particles
(smaller than 10 μm) move Brownian in the air and are easy to stay in
the airflow. Large particles (larger than 100 μm) deposit rapidly from
the air dominated by gravity with little regard for flow behavior.
Medium-sized particles (about 10 μm) deposit by viscous force compa­
rable to their inertia. Particles may rebound off the surface into the air
immediately after deposition and be re-entrained in the airflow.
Rebounding is favored if the particle’s kinetic energy is greater than the
adhesion energy, the energy requires to overcome the attraction be­
tween the particle and the surface. Wind-driven resuspension is the
process by which particles detach from a surface that has been attached
for a while and re-enter the airflow [34]. Natural dust deposition is not
an ideal single-layer dust deposition, but random and repeated. New
particles collide with the dust layer, they may resuspend the deposited
particles and return to the air together, which is called “collision-driven
resuspension”.
3.3. Main effects
The main effects of dust deposition on photoelectric efficiency are
shading effect, temperature effect and corrosion effect. The surface of
the photovoltaic panel is made of tempered glass with a transmittance
exceeding 91%. Dust will deposit on the surface of photovoltaic modules
and form a dust layer, and it will reflect and absorb light. It weakens the
transmittance of the glass cover and shields part of the solar radiation.
As a result, the amount of solar radiation received by photovoltaic
modules is reduced, and the photoelectric efficiency decreases. Existing
thermal balance models of photovoltaic modules are established under
dust-free conditions, and the temperature effect refers to the changes in
the thermal balance on photovoltaic modules caused by the accumula­
tion of dust. Photovoltaic modules are made up of smaller modules in
series. As shown in Fig. 5, the battery failed by dust deposition becomes
the load of other batteries, and the consumed electricity is converted
into heat, which increases the temperature of photovoltaic modules.
When the temperature is too high, photovoltaic modules are prone to
form hot spots, which is called the “hot-spot effect”. The hot spot effect
not only affects the efficiency of photovoltaic power generation but also
damages the entire photovoltaic system, causing irreparable damage.
The corrosion effect means that some particles in the air have a certain
acidity and alkalinity. There is a chemical reaction occurring with SiO2,
the main component of the glass layer when these particles deposit on
B. He et al. Energy 263 (2023) 126083

Table 1
Research on the influence of dust deposition on PV modules in different countries.
Reference Author Location Content Conclusion

[11] Dida et al. Ouargla, The impact of sandstorms on photovoltaic The performance drops over 32.85%.
Algeria modules.
[12] Weber Mexico A 60-day rain-free dust deposition experiment. The performance ratio is reduced by nearly 15%, and the annual output loss value
et al. is about 3.6%. It is proposed that cleaning should be done 1–2 times a year.
[13] Alnaser Bahrain The power generation efficiency by comparing The power generation is reduced by 10%. It is recommended to clean the
et al. cleaned and uncleaned photovoltaic panels. photovoltaic panels once a month and use self-cleaning nanomaterials.
[14] Paudyal Kathmandu A 5-month dust deposition experiment. The dust density is 9.6711 g/m2, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency is
et al. reduced by 29.76%.
[15] Saidan Baghdad, A dust deposition experiment for a day, a week The average degradation rates of photovoltaic efficiency are 6.24%, 11.8% and
et al. Iraq and a month in a dusty environment. 18.74%, respectively.
[16] Gholami Tehran, Iran A 70-day dust deposition experiment. The dust deposition density is 6.0986 g/m2, and the power generation decreases
et al. by 21.47%.
[17] Salim et al. Tehran, Iran The effects of dust concentration, wind speed and The impact ratios are 21.56%, 16.94%, and 0.83%, respectively, and the dust
relative humidity on photovoltaic power concentration has the greatest impact.
generation.
[18] Rao et al. Bangalore, Indoor and outdoor dust deposition experiments. The dust density of indoor dust deposition is 7.155 g/m2, and the output power is
India reduced by 45–55%; the indoor dust deposition density is 1.4 g/m2, and the
power loss is 4–5%.

[19] Mejia et al. California Effect of 145-day summer dry dust deposition. photovoltaic efficiency reduced from 15% to 13.9%.
[20] Kaldellis Athens, A 2-month polluted dust deposition experiment. When the density is 1 g/m2, the photovoltaic power generation will be
et al. Greece reduced by about 6.5%.
[21] Chen et al. China Effect of dust deposition and rainfall on photovoltaic The weekly average dust deposition density is 0.644 g/m2, the photovoltaic
emission reduction. output power is reduced by 7.4%, and the deposits are mainly SiO2 and
CaCO3.
[22] Wang et al. Shanghai, A dust deposition experiment. The maximum power decreases by 35.226%, and the maximum power
China generation efficiency is 5.546%.
[23] Ali et al. Taxila, A 3-month dust deposition experiment. The dust deposition density of monocrystalline silicon is 9.867 g/m2, and
Pakistan the average output power loss of monocrystalline silicon and polysilicon is
20% and 16%.
[24] Hammoud Lebanon A dust deposition experiment. A clean photovoltaic module is 32.27% more efficient than a dirty
et al. photovoltaic module on average.
[25] Al-Ghussain Jordan, USA A comparative study using photovoltaic energy estimation Cleaning photovoltaic modules every two weeks increases annual power
et al. model and actual photovoltaic power plant. generation by nearly 5% and reduces average power generation costs by
nearly 4%.
[26] Al-Badra Egypt Effect of six-week natural dust deposition, coating and Decreased by 33%, 12.94% and 24.46%, respectively. A coating or a
et al. mechanical vibration on the conversion efficiency of vibration system can effectively clean photovoltaic modules.
photovoltaic modules.

[27] Ghazi et al. England Indoor and outdoor studies on the Dust deposition amount increases from 0.001 g to 0.02 g, the reduction rate of glass transmittance
impact of dust deposition. increases from 1% to 10% indoors; the transmittance decreases by at least 5% outdoors.
[28] Adinoyi Saudi Effect of dust deposition. Power generation will be reduced by 50% for more than six months.
et al. Arabia
[29] Zorn et al. Iceland The effect of volcanic ash deposition Photovoltaic power generation reduces by up to 30% in Europe.
on photovoltaic modules.
[30] Kazem et al. Oman A 3-month dust deposition The productivity of photovoltaic modules drops by 35–40%.
experiment.
[31] Alshawaf Kuwait Impact of a dust storm on photovoltaic Total daily radiation reduces by 57%.
et al. output.

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of the effect of dust deposition on photovoltaic modules.

the photovoltaic module. It roughens the glass layer and increases
diffuse reflection. The propagation of solar radiation in the cover is
destroyed so that the photovoltaic power generation capacity is affected
[37,38].
4. The influencing factors of dust deposition
The dust deposition on the photovoltaic modules is mainly affected
by environmental factors, photovoltaic module factors and dust factors.
Environmental factors generally include rainfall, wind, humidity,

3
B. He et al.
Fig. 4. Different states of dust particles on photovoltaic panels.
Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of hot spot effect [37].
temperature and so on. The influencing factors of photovoltaic modules
include the installation methods, inclination angles, surface materials
and other factors. Dust influencing factors include particle diameter,
dispersion degree, dust type and so on. To get the principle of these
influencing factors, numerous scholars have carried out some studies
[39,40].
4.1. Environmental factors
4.1.1. Rainfall
Styszko et al. studied the natural dust deposition process of photo­
voltaic modules in Kraków under different meteorological conditions
and concluded that rainfall intensity had a significant impact on the
process of dust deposition [41]. Pedersen et al. measured the correlation
Fig. 6. The relationship between precipitation and dust deposition den­
sity [42].
4
Energy 263 (2023) 126083
between dust density and precipitation. As shown in Fig. 6, it shows that
rainfall can clean effectively, but is saturated at a dust density of 40
mg/m2, which also shows its imperfect cleaning [42]. Appels et al. found
that rainfall had a little cleaning effect on small dust particles (smaller
than 10 μm), but the cleaning effect on large particles (larger than 60
μm) was obvious [43]. Rainfall can effectively clean the large dust
particles on photovoltaic modules, but there are still a large number of
small dust particles adhering to the surface, which affects the light
transmittance.
4.1.2. Wind
The effect of wind on photovoltaic modules has both advantages and
disadvantages. On the one hand, the wind blows away some deposited
dust; on the other hand, the wind can also carry dust particles into the
atmosphere and accelerate the deposition. The influence of wind is
mainly wind speed and wind direction, and the latter affects more than
the former [44].
Lu et al. studied the effect of wind speed on the deposition of parti­
cles with different diameters. And the result is shown in Fig. 7, the trends
are similar under different wind speeds, and the dust deposition rate
increases first and then decreases with dust diameter. When the wind
speed is 1.3 m/s, the maximum dust deposition diameter is 100 mm, and
2.6 m/s is 150 mm. This is due to the combined effect of different wind
speeds and particle masses, and there exists an interaction [45].
It is of practical significance to study the influence of wind direction
and speed on dust deposition. Common dust deposition is cleaned with
strong airflow, reasonable control of the wind direction and speed will
help to remove dust and reduce the impact of secondary dust. In the
subsequent research, different wind speeds and directions can be
Fig. 7. Variation of dust deposition rate with particle diameter under different
wind speeds [45].
B. He et al. Energy 263 (2023) 126083

simulated experimentally, and the characteristics of dust deposition and

secondary dust can be observed and analyzed.

4.1.3. Humidity
Ramli et al. studied the effect of dust deposition on photoelectric
conversion efficiency under different weather conditions. The result
shows that the average relative humidity on sunny, cloudy and rainy
days is 52.24%, 60.45%, and 76.32%, respectively. And two-week dust
deposition causes the photovoltaic power generation to drop by 10.8%,
45%, and 40%, respectively. The data indirectly reflects the effect of
humidity on its photoelectric conversion efficiency. The output power
will decrease when the humidity gets high [46]. Mekhilef et al. found
that the influence of humidity could be divided into two situations. One Fig. 9. Schematic diagram of particles with thermophoresis effect [51].
is the effect of water vapor on the level of solar radiation, the result is
shown in Fig. 8. It is similar to the mechanism of dust deposition on
force, respectively. They found that the thermophoresis effect can
photovoltaic modules. The interaction between dust deposition and
reduce the accumulation of submicron particles on solar panels [51].
water vapor function weakens the light intensity through photovoltaic
To study the effect of temperature on the efficiency of photovoltaic
modules. Another is the effect of water vapor entering the solar cell.
modules from the perspective of dust deposition. On the one hand,
Through optical analysis, the result shows that the influence of humidity
particles expand as the temperature of photovoltaic modules increases,
on irradiation is nonlinear and the output power is slightly reduced [47].
and the gap between particles becomes smaller. Solar radiation is further
The experiments indirectly reflect that humidity does have a certain
absorbed and reflected by expanding dust particles. The less light that
effect on dust deposition. Dust will absorb moisture in the air and change
passes through, the less photovoltaic efficiency. On the other hand,
the original quality so that the behavior has a certain deviation from the
particles escape from PV modules under the thermophoresis effect. In
dry air condition. In addition, the humidity will also affect the cleaning
future experiments, the influence of temperature on dust deposition and
of photovoltaic modules. When the relative humidity is high, dust will
photoelectric efficiency can be comprehensively studied from these two
generate capillary force, which will cause an adhesion effect between
perspectives.
dust particles and the photovoltaic panel. It’s harder to clean compared
with the situation without capillary force. In the follow-up research, the
4.2. Photovoltaic module factors
relative humidity can be changed while other parameters are consistent,
and the dust accumulation density and photoelectric conversion effi­
4.2.1. Installation
ciency can be observed.
Photovoltaic modules can be installed on the ground, building inte­
grated photovoltaic, photovoltaic awning, pole installation and roof
4.1.4. Temperature
installation. Different installation methods have different effects [52].
Pan et al. found that the temperature cycle during the day and night
Ground-mounted and roof-mounted photovoltaic modules are usually
will cause the wire to expand and contract thermally, thereby increasing
arranged in the form of solar photovoltaic arrays rather than in isolation.
the internal resistance of the series and leading to a decrease in power.
Lu et al. used CFD to numerically study the dust deposition process.
Higher temperatures will also damage the solder joints in photovoltaic
Fig. 10 shows the streamlines of an isolated photovoltaic panel and
modules, resulting in power loss. Temperature is also a major factor in
photovoltaic arrays. Two small turbulent vortices and one large-sized
the reduction of photoelectric efficiency [48,49]. Katkar et al. studied
vortex can be seen below and behind the isolated photovoltaic panel,
the relationship between temperature and photoelectric conversion ef­
respectively. From the streamline diagram of photovoltaic arrays, we
ficiency. The photoelectric conversion efficiency first increases from
can see that the streamlines away from the solar photovoltaic arrays are
9.7% at 31 ◦ C to 12.0% at 36 ◦ C, then begins to decrease. It indicates that
very stable and parallel to the ground. However, many turbulent
there is a certain mathematical relationship between temperature and
vortices are generated in the near-wall region, and the largest turbulent
photoelectric conversion efficiency, and there is a certain influence on
vortex is generated behind the last photovoltaic panel. Between two
temperature [50]. Oh et al. studied how the temperature gradient be­
adjacent photovoltaic panels, there are three relatively large turbulent
tween solar panels and the surrounding air affects the accumulation of
dust, which is called the thermophoresis effect. As shown in Fig. 9, the
blue dashed line represents the boundary layer development near the PV
panel, and FD, FG and FT are drag force, gravity and thermophoretic

Fig. 10. Streamlines near an isolated photovoltaic panel and photovol­

Fig. 8. Irradiation intensity varies with relative humidity [47]. taic arrays.

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B. He et al. Energy 263 (2023) 126083

vortices and two small-scale turbulent vortices, which play crucial roles
in the behavior of dust deposition, especially for small particles. Fig. 11
(a) compares the deposition rate of dust on the isolated photovoltaic
panel and photovoltaic arrays, and the trends of the dust deposition rate
are similar. The dust deposition rate increases first and then decreases
with the particle size, but photovoltaic arrays are much higher than the
isolated photovoltaic panel because the deposition area of photovoltaic
arrays is much larger than the isolated one. Fig. 11(b) shows the rate of
dust deposition on different rows of photovoltaic panels, and the
deposition rate gradually decreases with the column number [53].
Studying the characteristics of each photovoltaic panel in photo­
voltaic arrays is helpful for the site selection and construction of
photovoltaic power plants. And the reasonable selection of the con­
struction spacing of photovoltaic panels helps maximize the use of space
resources and minimize the impact of dust deposition. In addition to the
ground-mounted photovoltaic modules, building integrated photovol­
taic modules, such as roof-mounted and wall-mounted photovoltaic
modules are also vigorously developed. It is also of practical significance
to study the characteristics of dust deposition.

4.2.2. Inclination angle

Lu et al. studied the effect of the different inclination angles of
photovoltaic modules on dust accumulation. As shown in Fig. 12, two
small turbulent vortices are generated below the photovoltaic panels,
while a larger separated vortex is generated behind them. However, the
size and shape of turbulent vortices are different with different instal­
lation angles. When photovoltaic panels are installed upwind, the sep­
aration vortex is much larger and more intense than downwind. The
influence of turbulent vortex has a great influence on dust deposition.
Fig. 13 is the dust accumulation rate corresponding to the inclination
angle, the deposition rate distributions are quite similar. It first increases
and then decreases with the particle diameter, the result shows that the
dust reduction rate is the highest when θ = 25o, followed by 40◦ , 155◦
and 140◦ . It reflects that when the angle between the solar photovoltaic
panel and the horizontal direction of the ground is smaller, the dust
accumulation rate is higher. And the installation angle has a greater Fig. 12. Time-averaged streamline diagram of photovoltaic systems with
impact on the deposition behavior and mechanism [45]. different inclination angles [54].
Khodakaram-Tafti et al. also show that the smaller the angle with the
horizontal direction, the more dust deposits in the dust storm environ­ of dust. Subsequent experimental research can propose some specific
ment [55]. topography, landform and climate, and put forward suggestions on the
The inclination angle of photovoltaic modules has a great influence inclination angle of photovoltaic modules suitable for their respective
on dust deposition. Reasonable selection of the inclination angle of characteristics.
photovoltaic modules is of great significance to reduce the accumulation

Fig. 11. Dust deposition rates for an isolated photovoltaic panel and photovoltaic arrays [53].

6
B. He et al. Energy 263 (2023) 126083

accumulate dust than the other two cells covered with clear glass.
However, there are no control variables for its surface material [56].
In future experimental research, consider the comparative study of
the conversion efficiency of monocrystalline silicon, polysilicon and
amorphous silicon when the surface materials are all glass or epoxy
resin. Similarly, the dust deposition characteristics of photovoltaic
modules can be comparatively studied under the control that the
manufacturing materials are both monocrystalline silicon, polysilicon or
amorphous silicon, and the surface materials are glass, epoxy resin and
other materials, respectively.

4.3. Dust factors

4.3.1. Particle diameter

Lu et al. used CFD to simulate the motion trajectories of dust particles
with diameters of 1, 50, 100, 150 and 250 μm near the solar photovoltaic
Fig. 13. Dust deposition rates of different particle diameters on the photovol­
panels and the result is shown in Fig. 14. When the wind speed is 1.3 m/
taic system with different tilt angles [45].
s, the dust with medium particle size (100 μm) is most likely to deposit,
and the deposition rate first increases and then decreases with the dust
4.2.3. Surface material
diameter. When the wind speed is 2.6 m/s, the deposition trajectory is
The solar cells are mostly made of monocrystalline silicon, poly­
similar to the low wind speed, but the diameter of the maximum
silicon and amorphous silicon. Monocrystalline silicon has high con­
deposition rate is 150 μm. For smaller dust particles, due to their low
version efficiency, good stability, high material requirements, complex
inertia, they have near Brownian motion in the absence of wind. In the
manufacturing process and high cost. Polysilicon has a wide range of
case of wind, the particle movement is consistent with the streamline of
raw materials, low purity requirements, low cost and low efficiency.
the wind, and larger dust particles are mostly deposited on the ground in
Amorphous silicon can also generate electricity in weak light, but its
front of the photovoltaic module under the action of gravity [57].
photoelectric conversion efficiency is low.
Fig. 15 is the relationship between dust deposition rate and particle
The material of photovoltaic modules substantially affects the con­
diameter under constant wind speed and gravity， the dust deposition
version efficiency. The material on the surface of photovoltaic modules
rate first increases and then decreases with the dust diameter. When the
affects the characteristics of dust deposition, which indirectly affects the
dust diameter is 10 μm, the maximum deposition rate reaches 0.28%,
photoelectric conversion efficiency. Jiang et al. studied the relationship
and the minimum is 0.13% at 50 μm [58].
between dust deposition and photoelectric efficiency reduction on the
The influence of small particles is mainly manifested in the Brownian
monocrystalline silicon glass surface, polysilicon epoxy resin surface
motion or deposition on the photovoltaic modules with the wind. And
and amorphous silicon glass surface. The experiment shows that the
large particles are more likely to deposit with gravity. Medium diameter
surface material has a potential impact on the reduction of output effi­
dust is affected by both gravity and wind, and with the change in wind
ciency, Polysilicon covered with epoxy resin is more prone to
speed, its trajectory will also change. This is the reason why the

Fig. 14. Motion trajectories of dust particles with different particle diameters near the solar photovoltaic panel [57].

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B. He et al. Energy 263 (2023) 126083

43.41%, 51.16% and 28.8%, respectively [57]. Khatib et al. studied the
effect of five common pollutants on the photoelectric conversion effi­
ciency, and the results are shown in Fig. 17. In contrast, the dust accu­
mulation effect of ash is the worst, and it will lead to a great decrease in
voltage, followed by laterite, calcium carbonate, silica, and sand [62].
Darwish also obtained such experimental results [63]. Tanesab et al.
pointed out that the dust particles deposited on photovoltaic modules
are mainly SiO2, CaO and KAlSi3O8, which are the main factors affecting
the light transmission loss of photovoltaic module performance [64].
Abderrezek et al. concluded that the greater the dust density on the
glass, the lower the light transmittance. Compared with the large par­
ticles, the small particles have a greater impact on the solar spectrum
and light transmittance. Because the small particles covering the surface
of the module will occupy more places than the large at the same mass.
In addition, fine particles have a more severe deterioration effect than
coarse particles. Because they are so uniformly distributed that allow
Fig. 15. The relationship between dust deposition rate and particle diam­
less light to pass through [65]. These theoretical studies will help the site
eter [58].
selection, installation and cleaning of photovoltaic modules.

maximum deposition diameters are different from the above experi­ 5. Cleaning methods for dust deposition
ments under different wind speeds. From the above research, it is not
difficult to find that the dust deposition is completed under the com­ A large number of experimental studies have shown that the cleaning
bined action of wind and gravity. Therefore, the wind speed affects the of dust deposition plays a crucial role in improving photovoltaic power
movement of particles, and the diameter of particles also reacts to the generation efficiency [66]. The cleaning methods for dust deposition
wind speed. mainly include manual cleaning, mechanical dust removal, electrostatic
dust removal technology, and self-cleaning coating technology. Manual
4.3.2. Degree of dispersion cleaning not only wastes manpower and water resources, but the effi­
Lu et al. studied the deposition characteristics of monodisperse dust ciency is also low. Also, it will cause damage to photovoltaic modules
and polydisperse dust, and the results are shown in Fig. 16. For mono­
disperse dust, the dust deposition rate first increases and then decreases
with the diameter of dust particles, and the maximum deposition rate
corresponds to the diameter is 10 μm. The polydisperse is similar to the
monodisperse dust. When the dust particle diameter ranges from 10 to
20 μm, the peak deposition rate is 0.52. A comparative study found that
the deposition characteristics of monodisperse and polydisperse dust
were similar [59].

4.3.3. Type of dust

Elias et al. studied natural dust, fly ash and coal ash, which reduce
the average power of photovoltaic modules by 2.72%, 13.16%, and
15.82%, respectively. Coal ash has a greater impact than fly ash [60].
Chanchangi et al. studied 13 different samples, and the result shows that
charcoal has the greatest effect on the degradation of photovoltaic
performance, reducing the short-circuit current by about 98%, while the
effect of salt is the least, about 7% [61]. Lu et al. studied the charac­
teristics of different dust, and the power output decreased by 30.77%, Fig. 17. Reduction of photoelectric conversion rate by five pollutants [62].

Fig. 16. Deposition rates of monodisperse and polydisperse dust [59].

8
B. He et al. Energy 263 (2023) 126083

during the cleaning process. Mechanical dust removal generally uses spanning and so on, to truly achieve intelligent cleaning [74–76]. In
brushing, air blowing, vibration and ultrasonic waves. Brushing is addition, Elsisi and Tran et al. proposed an IoT architecture based in a
extremely inefficient, the workload is large, and photovoltaic modules deep neural network against cyber-attacks. It monitors the state of the
are easily damaged. Air blowing is a cleaning method that saves water subject online through an Internet network. Through the application in
resources, the efficiency is also low and it uses a lot of energy. The key to power transformers, computer numerical control machines and auto­
vibration and ultrasonic dust removal is frequency and amplitude matic guided vehicles, it is proved that the platform can provide effec­
[67–69]. With the development of artificial intelligence, some re­ tive network security for data visualization and tracking. It enhances
searchers have combined traditional machinery and emerging intelli­ decision-making and improves industrial productivity. Therefore, the
gent algorithms to create intelligent cleaning robots, saving a lot of application of the machine learning algorithms in cleaning robots will
manpower and materials. greatly improve the cleaning efficiency [77–79].
Jiang et al. developed a cleaning prediction model to simply estimate
the cleaning frequency of dusty photovoltaic modules in desert areas.
5.2. Electrostatic dust removal technology
The parameters studied include installation inclination, dust concen­
tration in ambient air, and main particle diameter. The model is more
Mazumder et al. proposed an electrostatic dust removal technology -
accurate for a desert environment where precipitation and wind re­
EDS. It is embedded in a transparent dielectric film or consists of a row of
sources are extremely scarce. Fig. 18 is the cleaning time for different
transparent parallel electrodes mounted on the front cover glass of the
dust deposition densities and different inclination angles predicted by
solar panel. Fig. 22 is the schematic diagram of EDS, where the electrode
the model. From the figure, we can see that the cleaning time increases
and polymer film contribute to the charging and removal of dust par­
with the dust deposition density, decreases with the particle diameter,
ticles. When the EDS is activated, the local electric field around the thin
and increases with the tilt angle. This model will help to effectively clean
electrode becomes high and generates space charges in the dielectric
up dust deposited on photovoltaic modules [70].
film. And when the electric field lines are transferred from the polymer
film into the air, the normal electric field displacement conservation
produces charge separation, which supports the dust charging process.
5.1. Mechanical dust removal
When dust particles land on the surface of the EDS film, an exchange of
electrostatic charge occurs between the dust particles and the surface
Tejwani et al. designed a self-cleaning system with sun tracking,
atoms in contact with the top surface of the dielectric layer. The charge
Fig. 19 is the schematic diagram of the system, the system is composed of
exchange will make the donor atoms have a positive charge, the
an automatic tracking system and an automatic cleaning mechanism.
acceptor atoms will have a negative charge, and the charged particles
The automatic cleaning mechanism is realized by a brush, a rod and a
will be swept away by the moving electric field to achieve a cleaning
sliding wheel. The brush is installed in the rod, the two ends of the
effect. EDS-based self-cleaner can remove dust with over 90% efficiency
connecting rod are equipped with wheels, and the wheels are installed in
in less than 30 min without water and labor [80]. In addition, Kawamoto
the channel where the connecting rod rotates. When the panel is in a
et al. got similar results [81]. Sims et al. proposed that the biggest factor
vertical position at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., the pole-mounted brush rotates
affecting dust removal was voltage. The higher the voltage, the better
upon the panel under the force of gravity and washes it twice a day [71].
the effect of dust removal [82]. However, whether it is electrostatic,
Sun tracking technology refers to the technology in which the tilt angle
ultrasonic or mechanical cleaning, additional power is required to
and direction of photovoltaic modules follow the direction of the sun
power the cleaning device, which is expensive and may scratch the glass
and undergo continuous changes [72]. Babu et al. proposed a vibration
panel during the cleaning process, resulting in irreversible losses [83].
self-cleaning mechanism, by applying an external vibration source, the
solar panel vibrates to excite its fundamental frequency for cleaning, as
shown in Fig. 20 [73]. 5.3. Self-cleaning coating
Cleaning robots are a combination of mechanical cleaning and in­
telligence. They have the functions of automatic detection, scanning, In 1997, Wang et al. first reported the super-amphiphilic (simulta­
judgment, and execution, as shown in Fig. 21. These robots are generally neous hydrophilic and lipophilic) principle of nano-TiO2 thin films.
equipped with functions such as wireless charging, night work, panel After the TiO2 film is irradiated by ultraviolet light, the oxygen

Fig. 18. Simulation results based on predictive models [70].

9
B. He et al.
Fig. 19. Schematic diagram of sun-tracking and automatic cleaning [71].
Fig. 20. Vibration dust removal device diagram [73].
vacancies formed by the bridge-oxygen bonds connecting the titanium
atoms will combine with water molecules to form a hydrophilic region,
and the others will form lipophilic regions [85]. Self-cleaning coatings
are broadly classified into two categories: hydrophilic and hydrophobic.
The self-cleaning phenomenon is related to the contact angle, which is
the angle formed at the three-phase boundary (solid/liquid/vapor) be­
tween the droplet and the solid surface. As shown in Fig. 23, if the
contact angle is less than 90◦ , the surface is called hydrophilic. And it is
called a hydrophobic surface when the angle is more than 90◦ . In
particular, when the contact angle is less than 10◦ , the surface is
super-hydrophilic, and the contact angle which is greater than 150◦ is
super-hydrophobic [86,87]. After 70-day outdoor research, Ghulam
et al. found that TiO2 had great self-cleaning performance, though it is
expensive [88]. Lai et al. have demonstrated that this self-cleaning
coating based on TiO2 has a wide range of use, it can be used for
droplet transport, self-cleaning, anti-fog and so on [89].
5.3.1. Super-hydrophobic coating
The super-hydrophobic coating is inspired by the “lotus leaf effect” in
nature (Fig. 24). The surface of the lotus leaf is composed of micro
papillae, nano wax clusters, and nano wax tubes with a coarse structure
of about 10 μm and a fine structure of about 100 nm. When the surface
energy of the film is less than that of the water droplet, the water droplet
can stand on the surface of the object, the water on these structures is in
a non-equilibrium thermodynamic state and rolls spontaneously. When
the surface of PV modules can achieve the same effect as the lotus leaf,
allowing water droplets to roll on it, it can achieve the self-cleaning
effect. On the one hand, the rolling water droplets can take away most
of the dust deposited on the photovoltaic modules when it’s rainy. To
achieve the effect of self-cleaning, there is no need to waste manpower
or cause physical damage to the component surface. On the other hand,
airflows can easily carry away these deposited particles. Therefore, self-
cleaning coatings have certain potential in the cleaning of photovoltaic
modules, and now the industry is paying more and more attention to the
weather resistance of self-cleaning films. Two key criteria for the self-
cleaning performance of super-hydrophobic surface are the water
10
Energy 263 (2023) 126083
contact angle greater than 150◦ and strong antifouling resistance [85,
90–93].
Zhang et al. studied the dust reduction effect of super-hydrophobic
coatings at different inclination angles, as shown in Fig. 25. The result
shows that they can significantly reduce the dust deposition density on
the glass samples by 51.4% and 36.3% compared with clean glass,
respectively. Due to the reduced adhesion of the super-hydrophobic
coating, the dust deposition on the glass surface can be greatly
reduced, especially at large inclination angles. The particles roll or slide
off the photovoltaic modules more easily from the super-hydrophobic
surface under the action of gravity. In addition, super-hydrophobic
coatings have a better dust suppression effect on polysilicon photovol­
taic cells, followed by amorphous silicon photovoltaic cells and mono­
crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells [94]. Pan et al. found that
hydrophobic sols can reduce the adhesion of particles, and the
micro-nano surface structure can increase the rebound probability of
dust particles [95].
Wang et al. pointed out that the super-hydrophobic film coated with
its micro-nano anti-reflection structure can greatly reduce the accumu­
lation of dust on photovoltaic modules and increase the light trans­
mittance of the surface, improving the efficiency. The light
transmittance of the silicon-based super-hydrophobic film is higher than
that of the fluorine-based film, but the light transmittance of the
fluorine-based super-hydrophobic film is more stable in the external
environment, and its power generation efficiency is less affected by dust
deposition [96]. Ota et al. tested the anti-reflection and anti-fouling
properties of a silicon-based coating installed on photovoltaic mod­
ules, and the result shows that the use of this simple coating can increase
the output of photovoltaic arrays by 3.2%. The average transmittance of
the coated samples is 3.6% higher than uncoated samples. The output of
the photovoltaic array is similar to the gain in transmittance. In addi­
tion, the coating reduces the reflection of incident light at a high inci­
dence angle [97]. Lu et al. compared the self-cleaning effect of
superhydrophobic coatings, as shown in Fig. 26. For the four types of
dust, the glass samples with super-hydrophobic coatings show better
dust suppression performance than glass without coating. The
B. He et al.
Fig. 21. Cleaning robot [74–76].
deposition densities of dust A, B, C, and D on the coating surface are
about 59.46%, 55.34%, 52.41% and 36.77% of the exposed surface,
respectively [57].
5.3.2. Super-hydrophilic coating
Unlike super-hydrophobic coatings, super-hydrophilic coatings can
chemically decompose dirt and other impurities when expose to sun­
light, the process is called “photocatalysis”. The basic inspiration for the
technology comes from photosynthesis in green leaves, which use sun­
light to drive chemical reactions [86]. The contact angle of
super-hydrophilic coatings is less than 10◦ , so the water droplets can
spread out completely on the surface.
Zhong et al. conducted a comparative experiment. Three kinds of
11
Energy 263 (2023) 126083
super-hydrophilic coatings with the same composition and different
proportions were used, and the photoelectric efficiency was measured.
The experimental result is shown in Fig. 27, the daily power generation
of the coated panels is higher than the original panel. They increase the
power generation by about 3.2%, 3.5% and 4.2%, respectively.
Park et al. found that TiO2 is an excellent super-hydrophilic film with
hydrophilic and photocatalytic properties. The self-cleaning method has
two steps. The first stage is a photocatalytic process, where TiO2 breaks
down organic dust under the action of ultraviolet radiation. Raindrops
then spread across the surface to wash away dust particles due to the
nature of the super-hydrophilic coating [98]. Thompson et al. prepared a
super-hydrophilic SiO2 nano-coating glass and the water droplet contact
angle is less than 10◦ . They placed the coated glass and clean glass in a
B. He et al.
Fig. 22. Schematic diagram of EDS [80].
silicon carbide dust environment for comparative experiments and
found that the pollutants on the surface of the super-hydrophilic coated
glass were significantly less than later. This experiment also shows that
the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles is more conducive to
the cleaning of the coating surface [99]. Mellot et al. prepared a
super-hydrophilic TiO2 coating by the method of sol-gel and found that
it exhibited better photocatalytic properties, self-cleaning properties
and chemical resistance [100]. Joshi et al. used the method of sol-gel
synthesis to fabricate a super-hydrophilic anti-reflection coating, and
Fig. 23. Schematic of super-hydrophilic, hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and super-hydrophobic surfaces.
Fig. 24. Super-hydrophobicity on the surface of lotus leaf [84].
12
Energy 263 (2023) 126083
the study shows that the transmittance of the coating in the sunlight and
visible light regions increased by 5.2% and 6.4% [101]. It indicates that
the coating has a certain preventive and cleaning effect on dust
deposition.
In order to have a more intuitive understanding of the features of the
above-mentioned dust removal methods and choose a proper one, we
have conducted a comparative evaluation of them from three aspects of
cost, cleaning efficiency and summary (including benefits and draw­
backs), as shown in Table 2. Manual cleaning, machine brushing and air
blowing are the main cleaning methods of photovoltaic power stations
at present. They have abundant drawbacks (e.g., wasting manpower,
water or electricity), so they are not recommended in the future cleaning
process. Although cleaning robots, electrostatic dust removal and self-
cleaning coatings have a certain cost in the beginning of application,
they are recommended because they have high cleaning efficiency and
save the manpower consumption. However, self-cleaning coatings rely
on their own unique structure to reduce dust deposition fundamentally
while cleaning robots and electrostatic dust removal still waste some
water or electricity. Therefore, self-cleaning coatings have the brightest
future of these methods.
6. Conclusion
The review investigated the phenomenon of dust deposition on
B. He et al. Energy 263 (2023) 126083

● Rainfall will wash off large particles on photovoltaic modules, and

small particles will absorb moisture and adhere to the surface, which
can’t be completely cleaned. The smaller the incline angle between
the photovoltaic module and the horizontal direction, the more dust
particles deposit on the photovoltaic module. Small particles are
susceptible to Brownian motion and wind speed, large particles are
susceptible to gravity deposition, and there is a relationship between
particle diameter and wind speed.
● The cleaning methods of photovoltaic modules include manual dust
removal, mechanical dust removal, electrostatic dust removal, self-
cleaning coating and so on. In general, the self-cleaning coating
has better performance in dust removal. It requires no power or
manpower, relying on its own characteristics. Under the action of
gravity, the dust rolls or slides easily out of the photovoltaic surface
from the super-hydrophobic surface to realize self-cleaning. In
addition to relying on rain to take away dust, super-hydrophilic
coatings have photocatalytic properties of TiO2, which can degrade
Fig. 25. Influence of coating on dust deposition density of photovoltaic mod­
some organic dust and dirt.
ules [94].

At present, though many researchers have studied dust deposition on

photovoltaic modules in many countries. A large number of experi­
photovoltaic modules, there is still a lack of theoretical support and
mental data show that dust deposition has a significant impact on
experimental verification in some aspects. The following ideas can be
photoelectric conversion efficiency and power generation. In this paper,
studied in future research. First of all, most current dust deposition ex­
we discussed the characteristics of dust deposition, the influencing
periments are based on outdoor photovoltaic power plants, which is
factors and mechanism of dust deposition and some cleaning methods
uncontrollable. However, these problems can be solved perfectly by
for dust deposition. In particular, it emphasized the super-hydrophobic
designing indoor experiments. Secondly, it is significant to study the
coating and super-hydrophilic coatings and expounded the mechanism
influence of temperature, humidity and other environmental parameters
and self-cleaning effect. After systematic discussion, it mainly has the
following conclusions:

● The characteristics of dust deposition include dust deposition

mechanism (dust deposition behavior forces), the influence of dust
deposition on photovoltaic module performance and the influencing
factors of dust deposition. It is beneficial to the selection of the
installation of photovoltaic panels and the cleaning methods of the
photovoltaic modules in photovoltaic power plants.
● The deposition of particles on photovoltaic modules is influenced by
gravity and several types of forces: Van der Waals, liquid bridge and
electric flied. Under the combined action of turbulent diffusion,
Brownian diffusion, gravity deposition, turbulent swimming effect
and thermophoresis effect, dust particles adhere, rebound, accumu­
late and resuspend dynamically and repeatedly on photovoltaic
modules, forming a dust layer. The shielding effect, temperature
effect and corrosion effect will occur in photovoltaic modules,
reducing the output performance of photovoltaic modules.
Fig. 27. Daily power generation of different samples [93].

Fig. 26. Influence of coating on dust deposition density [57].

13
B. He et al. Energy 263 (2023) 126083

Table 2
The comparison of several dust removal methods mentioned in the review.
Methods of dust removal Cost Efficiency Summary Evaluation

Application Manpower Water Electricity Maintenance Benefits Drawbacks

Manual •Cleaner High High None None Low N/A •Heavy workload The worst
•Cloth •Waste water
• Damage PV panels
Mechanical Brushing •Machine Middle High High Low Middle N/A • Heavy workload Common
•Cleaner •Waste water
•Cloth •Damage PV panels
•Waste electricity
Air blowing •Machine Middle None High Low Middle •No water •Damage PV panels Common
•Secondary dust
Cleaning •Machine Low Middle Middle High High •Intelligent •High maintenance cost Good
robots •Algorithm •Unmanned
•Cleaner •Rich
Functions
EDS •Machine Low None Middle High High •High •Doesn’t work when RH Good
efficiency < 60%
•Unmanned
Self-cleaning coating •Material Low None None Low High •Unmanned •Poor wear resistance The best
•No water
•No electricity

which are hard to control on dust deposition characteristics. Thirdly, the
influence of dust deposition on PV module performance at different
deflection angles can be studied in future research. Also, the dust
removal characteristics can be studied under the combination of several
different dust removal methods, such as the combination of the super-
hydrophobic coating and mechanical air blowing, in order to obtain a
better dust removal effect. Finally, new self-cleaning materials should be
developed to achieve better self-cleaning and durability properties.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare the following financial interests/personal re­
lationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:
Hao Lu reports financial support was provided by Xinjiang Natural
Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. Hao Lu reports financial
support was provided by Xinjiang Regional Coordination Special
Project-International Science and Technology Cooperation Program.
Hao Lu reports financial support was provided by Xinjiang Major Sci­
ence and Technology Special Project. Hao Lu reports financial support
was provided by Central Guidance on Local Science and Technology
Development Project. Hao Lu reports financial support was provided by
Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China. Hao
Lu reports financial support was provided by National Oversea High-
level Talents Program, Innovation Team Project of Xinjiang University
and High-level Talents Project of Xinjiang University.
Data availability
The data that has been used is confidential.
Acknowledgment
The authors appreciate the financial supports provided by National
Oversea High-level Talents Program of China, National Natural Science
Foundation of China (No. 52266017) and the Major Project of the Na­
tional Social Science Foundation of China (No. 21&ZD133). It is also
supported by the Xinjiang Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young
Scholars (No.2021D01E08), the Xinjiang Regional Coordination Special
Project-International Science and Technology Cooperation Program
(No.2022E01026), the Xinjiang Major Science and Technology Special
Project (No.2022401002-2), the Central Guidance on Local Science and
Technology Development Project (No.ZYYD2022C16), the Innovation
Team Project of Xinjiang University (500122006021) and High-level
Talents Project of Xinjiang University (No.100521001).
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