Improvement the PV solar module cooling systems by using shallow geothermal

Abstract

Solar energy is one of the most significant renewable energy sources. In PY solar applications, ambient temperature is an important parameter which affects directly the efficiency of solar module. Due to reduction in output power and electrical efficiency of solar modules with rising of their temperatures, a treatment of this challenge is very important especially in hot climate like Iraqi environment in which the ambient temperature reaches more than 45°C in the summer and the annual solar radiation reaches about 2000kWhim2-year on the horizontal surface. In present work both closed and opened cycle solar modules cooling system by using shallow geothermal potential have been designed to reduce the module temperature to recover a part of lost power and conserve a long span life for the solar module. The solar module Sharp is subjected to evaluation measurements under the effect of these types of cooling systems along the summer season. The results indicated that the open-cycle cooling system is, slightly, more efficient than closed-cycle system, but more initial cost and consumed more electrical power in operation.