Multilayered PCMs-based cooling solution for photovoltaic modules: Modelling and experimental study

Abstract

The higher operational temperature during the Indian summer reduces the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) modules and also shortens their lifetime. Recently, phase change materials (PCMs) have been used as a passive cooling technique that can bring down the temperature of PV modules. In this study, we investigated the multilayered PCM system that can render thermal management in all seasons, owing to the combination of low and high melting point PCMs. The previous studies conducted on these multilayered PCMs have only performed simulations to evaluate these systems, and to the best of our knowledge, systematic experiments have not been performed to establish the merit of multi-layer PCM arrangement. Experiments on multilayered PCM showed a lower maximum temperature of PV module by 4 °C and 7.2 °C when compared to single-layer PCM and PV reference respectively. Theoretical calculations indicate that using the multilayered PCM system can successfully regulate the operating temperature of PV modules in all seasons with 3.3% higher yearly electric output, extend PV life by almost ten years and nearly double the lifetime earnings. Therefore, this work lays the groundwork for the commercialization of thermal management systems for PV modules using the multilayered PCM approach.