Enhancing the bifacial PV system by using dimples and multiple PCMs

Abstract

According to the world's energy needs, the demand for bifacial photovoltaic (BPV) modules and their uses is rising quickly. So, the present study aims to design a bifacial PV-PCMs system consisting of two mono-facial PV cells, a ribbed aluminum plate, and multiple PCMs. Varying melting points among the multiple PCMs as well as the ribbed aluminum plates were used to enhance the PV cells' electrical and thermal performance. The bifacial PV-PCMs system was studied in three cases: firstly, a smooth unit with a single PCM (RT-35), second, a ribbed unit with multiple PCMs (RT-35, and RT-27), and finally, a bifacial case without cooling to get the optimum design. Data from the literature and the numerical model were in excellent agreement. A numerical investigation was done into the cell temperature and the system's electrical efficiency at different solar radiation (800, 1000, and 1200 W/m2). The results concluded that, in the ribbed case with multiple PCMs, the top cell electrical efficiency increased by 0.5 % compared to the smooth case with a single PCM. Besides that, the cell temperature is decreased by a significant value of roughly 13 °C in the proposed system compared to the bifacial cell without cooling. The cell electrical efficiency for the ribbed unit with multiple PCMs is roughly 16.68 % compared to 15.5 % in the bifacial case without cooling. The proposed design is suggested for future bifacial PV-PCMs systems for roof and small land applications.