Experimental study on thermal management and performance improvement of solar PV panel cooling using form stable phase change material

Abstract

ABSTRACT Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels are used for the conversion of solar radiation into electrical energy. The solar radiation increases the photovoltaic cell temperature. The increase in temperature decreases the power output and the efficiency of the solar PV panel. In this study, polyethylene glycol/expanded graphite form stable phase change material (FSPCM) was prepared and used for solar PV panel cooling, since it has a high latent heat of fusion and shape stabilization. This FSPCM maintained the shape and good thermal contact between the panel and phase change material during the process of melting and cooling of the panel. The total thermal management and performance improvement of solar PV panel cooling using polyethylene glycol/expanded graphite form stable phase change material was studied by experimental method. The novel proposed that PV panel performance was compared with the existing air passive cooling method (heat sink). The reduction of panel surface temperature obtained for the heat sink based PV panel and finned composite PCM based PV panel are 9.45°C and 11.5°C, respectively. The overall improved PV panel efficiency for the proposed PV panel is 3.667%, which is higher than the conventional cooling technique (heat sink), i.e. 1.072%. The results indicate that the solar PV panel can be cooled by FSPCM in the temperature range of 35–40°C to increase the power output, efficiency, and life span of the panels.