Assessment Cooling of Photovoltaic Modules Using Underground Water

Abstract

Purpose: The drop in photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency under actual operating conditions because of cell temperature increase is a significant challenge to PV adoption and utilization. In this study, the efficiency and effectiveness of using underground water in cooling and cleaning photovoltaics will be practically ascertained in Baghdad-Iraq. Method: The cooling mechanism utilizes copper pipes in a modified spiral flow configuration. This developed system is referred to as Photovoltaic thermal (PV/T). To study the effect of using underground water wells on the performance of the PV system, two wells were drilled four meters apart to prevent the interference of cold well water and hot water from the heat exchanger. The water is drawn from the first well, with a depth of 8.86 m, and the hot water flowing out of the collector is injected into the ground through the second well, which has a depth of 8.43 m. Results: The outcome reveals that relying on a cooling source with a constant - low temperature (21°C) offers excellent cooling for the PV module, compared to an uncooled PV module, by 6°C at 7:00 AM and increased to reach 22°C at 1:00 PM. This reduction in temperature resulted in an average increase in electrical efficiency by 16.7%. The thermal efficiency ranges from 14% at 7:00 AM to 58% at 2:30 PM. Conclusion: The findings suggest that this approach is energy efficient and effective during the summer season.

Cooling of a PVT System Using an Underground Heat Exchanger: An Experimental Study

“…This area is known as a sedimentary plain, its groundwater is a reservoir close to the surface of the earth at depths of less than 20 m only. Chaichan et al 63 tested the employment of groundwater with a low salt content in cooling PVT systems. Currently, a growing governmental and popular movement is tending toward photovoltaic power plants as an alternative to fossil fuel power plants.…”

The performance of four domestic rooftop 7.8 kW − PV in the Kingdom of Bahrain: toward low building emission

“…-The regular cleaning, either once a week or twice a month or once a month. Future research work will be conducted on two domestic of these 10 houses to study the performance of the PV system on rooftop by cooling the PV panel, in an innovative way, like fine gray water spray or water recirculation using part of the solar electricity produced, as this gives better PV efficiency (performance) due to heat removal from PV panels [51] and removing the dust on PV surfaces as dust reduces the efficiency of PV panel by 10% of PV by about 11% for single crystalline cells [52].…”