Does rain affect the energy productivity of photovoltaic systems?

Obtained results are promising and confirm that the overall impact of rain can have non-negligible positive influences on the energy productivity of photovoltaic systems, mainly for thermal and optical reasons, paving the way for further studies on the topic. 1. Introduction

How does rain affect solar panels?

In more detail and more specifically, the interception of rain by the impervious surface of the solar panels produces an “umbrella effect” that delineates a sheltered area.

How do PV panels affect rainfall?

The raindrops intercepted by PV panels during rainfall will concentrate along the lower edges of PV panels and fall onto ground surface, causing heterogeneous spatial distribution of rainfall (Barron-Gafford et al., 2019, Jahanfar et al., 2019). Some researches indicated that runoff in slopes or hillslopes can be increased by PV panels.

Do solar panels affect rain redistribution?

Finally, the water amounts predicted by AVrain were used as inputs to Hydrus-2D for a brief exploratory study on the impact of the presence of solar panels on rain redistribution at shallow depths within soils: similar, more diffuse patterns were simulated and were coherent with field measurements. How to cite.

Does a PV panel affect rainfall-runoff and soil erosion processes?

The rainfall-runoff and soil erosion processes of a slope with a PV panel above the middle of it and a control slope with no cover were observed and compared. The result indicated that the PV panel did not have considerable effect on runoff volume, peak flow discharge, and overland flow velocity.

Does rain affect surface cleaning tilted PV modules?

In conclusion, it can be confirmed that rain has a positive impact on the surface cleaning tilted PV modules (i.e., up to 6%), especially in dusty environment and if rainfalls are convective type, thus quite intense.