Fluid flow and heat transfer analysis of a photovoltaic module under varying environmental conditions

Abstract

The objective of this work is to evaluate fluid flow and heat transfer from a standard photovoltaic module by means of comprehensive analysis for the polycrystalline photovoltaic modules by using three-dimension CFD numerical modelling and experimental measurement. The analysis shows that PV module temperature is incident solar radiation GT and ambient temperature Ta dependent but also depends on the wind speed as well as wind direction. It has been additionally shown that the mounting conditions which are not included in any advanced mathematical model also plays a significant role. Base on presented results the already existing models for PV module temperature evaluation can be tuned in order to determine the PV module temperature accurately. The experimental and numerical results that were obtained enable the development of a model for the module operating temperature evaluation under varying real environmental conditions.