A comprehensive review on various cooling techniques to decrease an operating temperature of solar photovoltaic panels

Abstract

• The operating temperature of the photovoltaic panel plays a vital role during the energy conversion process • Technology development and application prospects for PV panel cooling are reviewed. • Active, Passive, and Hybrid cooling are the main technologies. • PCM with the nanoparticles usage makes the cooling system more effective. At present solar power is considered to be one of the most predominant non-conventional and renewable resources when compared with other resources. It does not produce toxic pollutants like conventional fuels while converting them into electric power. Photovoltaic (PV) power generation will be varying continuously according to climatic conditions. The variation in irradiation, wind speed, temperature, and soling affects the power produced by the panel. The operating temperature of the photovoltaic panel plays a vital role during the energy conversion process. PV panel excessive surface operating temperatures and high ambient temperature results in overheating of panels, which in turn significantly decreases the lifetime, efficiencies, and increased payback period of the system. To address these challenges, different cooling approaches in restricting the panel to nominal operating temperature. In light of the above, a comprehensive review is presented on the different cooling techniques resulting in enhancing the performance of solar panels. Air-based, water-based cooling systems, phase change material (PCM), and hybrid cooling by using PCM, nanomaterials, and nanofluids have been researched to ensure reduced panel degradation. The effectiveness of each cooling approach and performance enhancement of the PV panel will also be reported. This review outlines that water-based cooling is better than air-based cooling unless recovered heat is particularly utilized for domestic applications. However, cooling techniques involving the combination of PCM with nanoparticles usage, make the cooling system more effective when compared with water-based systems. The usage of different PCMs and their properties are presented in this review.