Abstract
Photovoltaic (PV) panels convert a certain amount of incident solar radiation into electricity, while the rest is converted to heat, leading to a temperature rise in the PV. This elevated temperature deteriorates the power output and induces structural degradation, resulting in reduced PV lifespan. One potential solution entails PV thermal management employing active and passive means. The traditional passive means are found to be largely ineffective, while active means are considered to be energy intensive. A passive thermal management system using phase change materials (PCMs) can effectively limit PV temperature rises. The PCM-based approach however is cost inefficient unless the stored thermal energy is recovered effectively. The current article investigates a way to utilize the thermal energy stored in the PCM behind the PV for domestic water heating applications. The system is evaluated in the winter conditions of UAE to deliver heat during water heating demand periods. The proposed system achieved a ~1.3% increase in PV electrical conversion efficiency, along with the recovery of ~41% of the thermal energy compared to the incident solar radiation.
Highlights
The most efficient photovoltaic (PV) cells convert up to 27.6% of incoming solar radiation into electricity based on PV cell material [1,2], while the remaining more than 72% is reflected or converted into heat [3,4]
The so-called photovoltaic-phase change materials (PV-PCM) system was evaluated for different PCM containment options [22] and a combination of PCMs with different melting points [23] which were tested under various solar radiation intensities indoors [24] resulting in effective temperature control
The PCM is characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to confirm its thermos-physical properties
Summary
The most efficient photovoltaic (PV) cells convert up to 27.6% of incoming solar radiation into electricity based on PV cell material [1,2], while the remaining more than 72% is reflected or converted into heat [3,4]. The effects of increased temperature on PV lifespan are reviewed in [16], where it was concluded that PV cells degrade faster in hot climates due to long-term thermal ageing caused by their elevated operating temperatures [17]. The so-called photovoltaic-phase change materials (PV-PCM) system was evaluated for different PCM containment options [22] and a combination of PCMs with different melting points [23] which were tested under various solar radiation intensities indoors [24] resulting in effective temperature control. The PV-PCM technology have been proved to be effective in limiting temperature rise and increasing the performance of PV devices under single Sun [25] as well as low solar radiation concentration [26]. The article presents experimental results in order to quantify the electrical efficiency improvement and thermal energy benefits for water heating using the PV-PCM technology
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