Experimental Investigation of the Efficiency of Solar Panel Over Which Water Film Flows

Abstract

The most important energy source of the world is the sun. Solar energy can be converted to electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. It is known that maximum electrical efficiency of PV solar panels is around 15%-20%. Therefore, it is clear that PV solar panels are not very efficient. This is due to some reasons. One of the most important of these reasons is the increase in the temperature of the PV solar panel. Therefore, PV solar panels should be cooled by means of any cooling methods. For this reason, in this study, the effect of temperature on electrical efficiency of PV solar panels has been investigated experimentally. For this purpose, an experimental setup, containing two PV solar panels with and without cooling, was installed. In this experimental setup, unlike the general literature a flowing water film, which is on the panel, obtains the cooling. It has been determined that power output of the cooled solar panel is greater than without cooling one. A 11.143 W electrical power has been gained from the PV panel due to cooling obtained by flowing water film. The average power increase by means of designed cooling system is about 9.51%. As a result, it was specified that the cooled solar panel was approximately 13.69% more efficient than the uncooled one. In this experimental study, uncertainty analysis was also performed. The uncertainty of the maximum power and electrical efficiency are ± 0.16130% and ± 1.28366%, respectively.

Effect of Overflowing by Seawater on the Power of a Ship’s Photovoltaic Panels under Extensive Sea Waves

“…Very similar values for the changes in the efficiency of a PV panel were obtained by Erdoğan et al [16], who used a cooling process in which a water film flowed down the PV panel. Water was continuously supplied by a circulating pump, and the mean gain in the electricity obtained due to the cooling process was 9.51%.…”

“…Erdoğan et al [16] presented results for a cooling process of a PV module with a power of 270W p , subjected to continuous water spraying at an inclination angle of 34°, under Turkish climate conditions (the research was carried out in June, with an irradiance of about 800-950 W/m 2 ). The mean 24-hour power increases for the cooled PV module over the three days of the research were 8.76%, 8.23% and 10.85%, respectively.…”