Experimental studies on photovoltaic module temperature reduction using eutectic cold phase change material

Abstract

An increase in Photovoltaic (PV) module temperature (TPV) affects the photoconversion efficiency (PCE). Annual TPV loss accounts higher than other losses in the PV system for hot climatic conditions. The main objective of this work is to introduce a novel passive Cold-PCM (C-PCM) to reduce the TPV. Commercial PCM’s are more expensive than a eutectic PCM. In this work, Lauryl alcohol and Ethyl alcohol are mixed in a ratio of 75:25 to form a eutectic mixture. The prepared eutectic mixture is having a melting temperature and latent heat of fusion of 21.75 °C and 199 J/g, respectively. Furthermore, C-PCM containers with 3-cm and 5-cm thickness are attached at the back surface of the PV module. It is observed that the 5-cm container exhibits higher heat transfer, which subsequently resulted in TPV reduction at a maximum of 10.3 °C. This decrease in TPV, enhanced the average voltage profile by 2.85%, thereby the average output power is also boosted by 2.8%. Consequently, this eutectic PCM can improve the average performance ratio, electrical efficiency and capacity utilization factor of the PV module by 72.63%, 10.09% and 19.41%, respectively. Thus the experimental results revealed that C-PCM could be a potential replacement to H-PCM for cooling down the TPV.