Efficiency Improvement of Photovoltaic Modules via Back Surface Cooling

Bevilacqua, Piero; Perrella, Stefania; Cirone, Daniela; Bruno, Roberto; Arcuri, Natale

doi:10.3390/en14040895

Cited by 35 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…Their results are expected since this is an immersion. Bevilacqua et al [38] showed through their study that a simple spray cooling mechanism on a PV module could increase the electrical efficiency up to 1.6%. In a study by Abdolzadeh and Ameri [39] they used water spraying on the PV module's front surface to increase the cell efficiency by 3.26%.…”

Section: Electrical Analysis Of Both Panelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of a Combination of Active and Passive Cooling Mechanism on the Thermal Characteristics and Efficiency of Solar PV Module

et al. 2021

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A photovoltaic (PV) module’s electrical efficiency depends on the operating temperature of the cell. Electrical efficiency reduces with increasing PV module temperature which is one of the drawbacks of this technology. This is due to the negative temperature coefficient of a PV module which decreases its voltage significantly while the current increases slightly. This study combines both active and passive cooling mechanisms to improve the electrical output of a PV module. A heat sink made up of aluminum fins and an ultrasonic humidifier were used to cool the panel. The ultrasonic humidifier was used to generate a humid environment at the rear side of the PV module. The cooling process in the study was able to reduce the temperature of the panel averagely by 14.61 ℃. This reduction led to a 6.8% improvement in the electrical efficiency of the module. The average power of 12.23 W was recorded for the cooled panel against 10.87 W for the referenced module. In terms of water consumption, a total of 1.5 L was approximately consumed during the whole experimental process due to evaporation. In effect, the proposed cooling approach was demonstrated as effective.

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Section: Electrical Analysis Of Both Panelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of a Combination of Active and Passive Cooling Mechanism on the Thermal Characteristics and Efficiency of Solar PV Module

et al. 2021

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“…Experimental tests and numerical analyses on monocrystalline or polycrystalline photovoltaic panels show that the decrease in efficiency, as the operating temperature increases, and the necessity of cooling solutions are current concerns in the literature [11][12][13]16,30,31].…”

Section: Related Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancement of PV Panel Power Production by Passive Cooling Using Heat Sinks with Perforated Fins

et al. 2021

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This paper presents a numerical model regarding the passive cooling of PV panels through perforated and non-perforated heat sinks. A typical PV panel was studied in a fixed position, tilted at 45 degrees from the horizontal with the wind direction towards its backside. A challenging approach was used in order to calibrate the base case of the numerical model according to the NOCT conditions. Further validation of the accuracy of the numerical simulation consisted of a comparison between the results obtained for the base case, or heat sink, with horizontal non-perforated fins and the experiments presented in the literature. Six types of heat sink attached to the backside of the PV panel were numerically studied. The analyzed configurations focused on heat sinks with both perforated and non-perforated fins that were distributed horizontally and vertically. The CFD simulation was also conducted by modeling the air volume around the PV panel in real wind conditions. The main output parameters were the average temperature and the convective heat transfer coefficient on the front and back of the PV panel. The most important effect of cooling was achieved in low wind conditions and high levels of solar radiation. For vair = 1 m/s, G = 1000 W/m2 and ambient temperature tair = 35 °C, the percentage of maximum power production achieved 83.33% for the base case, while in the best cooling scenario it reached 88.74%, assuring a rise in the power production of 6.49%.

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“…These factors may very well affect the efficiency and the profitability of PVs. For instance, several studies have discussed the negative effects of elevated temperatures on PV modules and suggested different methods of improving their efficiencies [11][12][13]. Other studies have investigated the effect of dust on PV modules [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of a Real-Time Dynamic Model for a PV Cooling System

et al. 2022

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The cooling of PV models is an important process that enhances the generated electricity from these models, especially in hot areas. In this work, a new, active cooling algorithm is proposed based on active fan cooling and an artificial neural network, which is named the artificial dynamic neural network Fan cooling algorithm (DNNFC). The proposed system attaches five fans to the back of a PV model. Subsequently, only two fans work at any given time to circulate the air under the PV model in order to cool it down. Five different patterns of working fans have been experimented with in this work. To select the optimal pattern for any given time, a back propagation neural network model was trained. The algorithm is a dynamic algorithm since it re-trains the model with new recorded surface temperatures over time. In this way, the model automatically adapts to any weather and environmental conditions. The model was trained with an indoor dataset and tested with an outdoor dataset. An accuracy of more than 97% has been recorded, with a mean square error of approximately 0.02.

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Efficiency Improvement of Photovoltaic Modules via Back Surface Cooling

Cited by 35 publications

References 72 publications

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of a Combination of Active and Passive Cooling Mechanism on the Thermal Characteristics and Efficiency of Solar PV Module

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of a Combination of Active and Passive Cooling Mechanism on the Thermal Characteristics and Efficiency of Solar PV Module

Enhancement of PV Panel Power Production by Passive Cooling Using Heat Sinks with Perforated Fins

Investigation of a Real-Time Dynamic Model for a PV Cooling System

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