Cooling silicon photovoltaic cells using finned heat sinks and the effect of inclination angle

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This study investigates the reduction in temperature within a silicon solar module by increasing the heat transfer coefficient of its rear surface. Specifically, a combined simulation and experimental study is carried out to determine how the performance of a heat sink mounted on the rear of a module is dependent on orientation, and how fin height influences the heat sink’s ability to reduce temperature. With a heat sink fin height of 20 mm, the temperatures of the front and rear surfaces of the module reached 62 °C and 51 °C, respectively. When the fins are extended to 300 mm, these temperatures reduced to 45 °C and 30 °C, respectively. It is shown that the heat sink’s performance in removing heat decreases when the orientation is rotated through 180° (from facing upwards to facing downwards). The accompanying effect on the power output is also investigated. When the 20 mm heat sink is applied to a solar module, the power output increased by 11.3% (relative), compared to the power generated from a bare solar module. Similarly, the application of a 100 mm heat sink resulted in an increase in power output of 15.3% (relative).