A critical review of photovoltaic panels thermal management: criteria and methods

Abstract

In the last few years, several studies have analyzed and discussed previous researchers' efforts. The researcher's activities were performed to classify PV panel cooling systems. The review illustrated the effect of the cooling system on the PV panel's thermal management, PV panel efficiency, and PV panel output power. The study focuses on the review of active, passive, and hybrid cooling system applications. The effects of different PCM materials and PCM containers on the PV panel passive cooling system are investigated experimentally and numerically. PCM material simulation is difficult, so the study analyses the available simulation methods and their advantages and disadvantages. The PV panels' active cooling system is very sufficient in both thermal management and energy efficiency. The review also summarizes each cooling technique's advantages and disadvantages for optimum model design and material selection. The study discovered that combining two or more cooling systems increases system efficiency by transferring energy from one to the other.