Evaluation of thermal, electrical and overall efficiency of an air-cooled solar panel equipped with hexagonal pin-fins

Abstract

In the present paper, a 5-W solar panel is cooled using airflow due to the importance and wide application of solar panels. A number of hexagonal pin-fins with two different arrangements are installed under the panel. The airflow enters a channel in the range of 1–3 m/s and cools the panel in a turbulent flow regime. The numerical method is employed for solving the governing equations. The airflow is turbulent and the standard k-ε turbulence model is selected. Finally, the maximum temperature of the panel, as well as, the electrical, thermal, and overall efficiency of the panel is presented at different air velocities for two pin–fin arrangements. The findings of this study show that growing the air velocity decreases the maximum temperature of the solar panel, resulting in an enhancement of the electrical efficiency of the panel. Moreover, augmenting the air velocity enhances the thermal and overall efficiency of the panel. The better pin–fin arrangement is also introduced based on lower maximum temperature and higher overall efficiency. Finally, it is understood that the maximum amount of electrical, thermal, and overall efficiency occurs at a velocity of 3 m/s, which are 13.1%, 60.8%, and 74%, respectively.