Experimental Studies on PV Module Cooling With Radiation Source PCM Matrix

Abstract

Rise in PV module temperature (T PV ) majorly drops the electrical output of the PV system. This research presents a novel cylindrical tube PCM matrix that is not in physical contact with the PV module back surface unlike the existing PCM based PV module cooling techniques. This contactless PCM matrix prevents the PV module from thermal and physical stress, also it blocks thermal energy re-conduction from PCM to PV module. While stored thermal energy from PCM retransferred to the PV module during off-sunshine hours and also when the PCM turns to liquid T PV starts to rise abruptly, this contactless PCM matrix minimizes these issues as PCM matrix receives thermal energy by the mode of radiation and convection; Besides, PCM matrix surface area is not enclosed with the PV module back surface area that reduces the thermal stress and re-conduction. Developed PCM matrix is integrated beneath the PV module at particular distances of 6 mm, 9 mm and 12 mm to optimize the spacing between PV module and PCM matrix. It is found that 6 mm spacing PCM matrix reduced the T PV maximum of 2.5 • C compared to 9 mm and 12 mm spacing. This T PV reduction enhanced the PV module electrical output by 0.2 % than PV without PCM and it is observed that 6 mm is an optimal spacing for the radiation source PCM matrix.

A Review of Heat Dissipation and Absorption Technologies for Enhancing Performance in Photovoltaic–Thermal Systems

“…PCMs absorb sensible heat until they reach their melting/solidification temperature; at this point, they begin to absorb latent heat and continue melting, as illustrated in Figure 9 [115]. The mechanism of PCMs itself does not require any flowing medium to reject heat, it also means that in the PCMs system, external energy such as pumping power is not needed [116][117][118][119]. In recent years, researchers have focused on utilizing the unique heat rejection capabilities of PCMs in PVT systems, as summarized in Table 5 [120][121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131].…”

A Review of Heat Batteries Based PV Module Cooling—Case Studies on Performance Enhancement of Large-Scale Solar PV System

“…Commercial PCM achieves perfect endothermic and exothermic reaction without any restriction in operation; the only drawback in commercial PCM is investment costs. In most cases, PCM integration investment is higher than the temperature loss which makes commercial PCM unsuitable for real-time applications [16]. As mentioned earlier, paraffin wax is widely examined as it is inexpensive, readily available in the market, and easy to handle.…”

“…The device is exposed to thermal radiation, which gradually heats the device/module temperature. This increase in module temperature (T PV ) mainly affects the voltage profile of the PV module [16].…”

Enhancing Solar Panel Cooling and Thermal Efficiency Using Nanoparticle-Enhanced Phase Change Materials

“…A PCM network with a 6 mm dispersing brought down the TPV greatest by 2.5℃ and expanded the electrical result of the PV module by 0.2%. A dividing of 6 mm is great for the radiation source PCM lattice [7]. The ECM is a worked on one-layered numerical model that has roughly a similar exactness as CFD displaying while at the same time expecting a few significant degrees less computation time.…”