Photovoltaic systems, widely adopted as a reliable renewable energy source, are highly susceptible to various environmental factors, including temperature, humidity, wind speed, and particularly dust accumulation, which significantly impacts their performance [1, 2, 3]. Dust reduces solar panel efficiency by 10% to 40%, depending on your climate, the type of dust, and how long it sits on the surface. In a typical environment, you can expect around a 20% drop in power output from dust buildup alone. Dust accumulation varies widely across different geographic regions, influenced by climate, land use, humidity, and pollution. Arid and semi-arid. Dust accumulation on photovoltaic (PV) modules is a major factor contributing to reduced power output, lower efficiency, and accelerated material degradation, particularly in arid and industrialized regions.
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