I enjoyed reading it, but I am not going to try it 
4 Likes
Me neither. I’m looking for a good one, commercially produced.
2 Likes
A bit off topic, but can some community members with PV systems who are being affected by the smoke and haze from the current bushfires kindly advise how much effect it is having on their PV generation?
I would have expected that it would be similar to overcast & rainy weather but perhaps it is more or less than that.
1 Like
Suggest you look at your local BOM site for the solar irradiance data. It may suit to compare current daily totals with past monthly averages.
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/data-services/solar/index.shtml
I don’t know what the relevance of that is.
We don’t have any smoke or haze here at present and I can see what effect rain and cloud has on our PV system.
I am just curious as to how much effect the smoke and haze from the bushfires has on PV output.
Firstly what is the point of reference.
Secondly there needs to be some form of objective measurement.
Thirdly some days may have predominantly smoke haze. How are other weather effects such as cloud cover and dust from strong winds considered? All may be presented at the same time.
Despite numerous large fires and regular smoke haze in our area, our solar output over each month has not fallen noticeably. Perhaps there were some days worse than the norm. However we have many days at this time of year that are haze impacted or cloudy.
There is certainly some impact on solar PV from haze or fire smoke. It just seems difficult to quantify it without an agreed form of measurement.
Days that have more bush fire haze and smoke one would expect to have lesser values of solar irradiance recorded by the BOM stations than the average for that time of year or typical clear day readings. The irradiance measurement relates directly to the performance of a solar PV cell; design and orientation and temperature characteristics dependent.
1 Like
I wasn’t trying to conduct a scientific study.
That is what I was wanting to know.
1 Like
I can tell you that is is significantly lowering my output from normal for this time of year. The days have generally been clear above the smoke( a bit hard to tell from the ground some days, but easy on satellite images), but output and solar radiation levels (which I measure with a Davis Wx station) are down on usual. It isn’t as bad as a heavy overcast day, more like a day or moderately thick overcast. The sun is so dim for an hour or 2 after sunrise that is it easy to look at, being a dim red disc in the sky.
Shorter wavelength UV light is even more affected, with levels so low on some days that it would be safe to be outside for extended periods with no shirt or sunscreen (ie UV 1.3 in the middle of the day vs usual 15-16).
3 Likes
The smoke particles adsorb a lot of the radiance from the sun. Carbon has an increased effect on UV & red band widths as fine particulates so even if the sky appears clear radiation from the sun that reaches your panels can be much lower than looking at the sky may predict. As @gordon has noted his UV exposure is much much lower at the moment. Using your current BoM readings and comparing to historical and non fire days should give you a good idea of the effect smoke (even non visible) would be having on panel output.
You could also do the same for an area more affected by smoke and do the same historical and current BoM research and that should give you a very clear picture the effect smoke has on results. I would think smoke in any substantial amount even if not visible to our eyes would be having a decent downward effect on panel outputs.
4 Likes
You got one anecdote that went one way and another that went the other. Perhaps a larger sample would help. Or maybe check the solar irradiance in your area.
And just how will that answer my query when we presently have no bushfires or smoke?
You said you didn’t want to conduct a study. So that rules out getting any real data at your place
by comparing production at the same time of day when it is clear or smoky.
Then you are stuck relying on what other people tell you they observe at their place and as you have seen that may not help much as they may or may not have recorded the figures, taken any notice or had the same smoke level as you. That leaves doing some sums based on the solar irradiance data from the BOM, which is probably not that useful either.
If it was me I would be looking at my own records of what is actually happening. Old empiricists never stop wanting data but the instruments do get harder to read with time.
1 Like
As I stated before, we don’t have any smokey weather at present, or just about any other time, so it would be extremely difficult to follow your recommendation.
And in the case of overcast or rainy weather, our inverter data provides ample information.
All I wanted was some feedback from those PV system owners who have been affected by the recent bushfires for my own personal interest.
There is certainly considerable variability within the data sets. Perhaps as @gordon has done @Fred123 could purchase a device specifically for measuring the solar irradiance on the roof and collect data locally. Similar to how many have a rain gauge and keep a daily rain chart.
As we have no control over our sunshine, or the ability to change how our solar panels respond, is there any value?
1 Like
An article which addresses my question.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/snowball-effect-bushfire-smoke-reduces-solar-panel-efficiency-increases-load-on-coal-fired-power-920909/?utm_source=nine.com.au&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=editorial-strap
It’s caused a number of town-wide outages here simply through rapid cloud cover - unusual and sometimes sudden in the outback.
Sadly, the experts that warn this stuff, warn it after the fact and apparently weren’t present when all these wonderful schemes were put in place to use renewables in conjunction with traditional means … or maybe they were ‘moderated’ by politicians or big business … but I repeat myself …
1 Like
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the 6 air purifier review post. Is the more extensive air purifier review on track for publishing in March as planned?
Thank you.
Hi @Bakersdelight. The new air purifier test is just being finalised now and I hope to publish the results next week. So maybe not quite March, but certainly early April at latest.
(The testing took a bit longer than expected - there was a lot to figure out along the way. And there have been one or two other logistical challenges in the current lockdown situation!)
3 Likes
Hi Chris, thanks for the reply. Has the extended air purifier review been published yet?
Cheers
Hello Chris,
Is there any news on the updated air purifier report that was hoped to be published in March 2020 or early April 2020 at the latest?
I signed up for Choice primarily for the air purifier report, so I’m really hoping it will be published very soon.
It is a shame that Choice is, unfortunately, yet another website yearning to be a social media platform. Worst of all, it is focused on consumer complaints.
1 Like
