Experimental analysis on the performance of photovoltaic module with Al2O3 deionized water nanofluid

Abstract

The demand for energy is increasing across the globe for several economic growth-related activities which are mostly obtained through fossil fuel. It results in adverse effects on the environment in the form of increased GHG emissions. Most countries are formulating green energy policies to reduce the impact of fossil fuels. Solar energy is one of the most preferred renewable sources to meet the energy requirement which are harvested using the PV system. However, the major limitation of the PV system is that its performance decline at higher operating temperature. For cooling the PV systems, several researches are carried out and still the problem persists. In the present work, the alumina nanofluid is synthesized using deionized water as the base fluid and used as the coolant for the PV module. The concentration of Al2O3 in deionized water is varied from 0.01-0.04% with a varying flow rate of 10-60 Lph. The impact of the Al2O3 nanofluid on the performance of the PV module is studied in terms of overall efficiency, and thermal and electrical efficiency. From the observed results, it is evident that the usage of Al2O3 nanofluid enhanced the efficiencies of the PV module in comparison with base deionized water. The optimum flow rate for Al2O3 nanofluid is observed to be 40 Lph when the concentration is about 0.04%.