Abstract
An increase in the operating temperature of photovoltaic (PV) panels caused by high levels of solar irradiation can affect the efficiency and lifespan of PV panels. This study uses numerical and experimental analyses to investigate the reduction in the operating temperature of PV panels with an air-cooled heat sink. The proposed heat sink was designed as an aluminum plate with perforated fins that is attached to the back of the PV panel. A comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was conducted using the software ANSYS Fluent to ensure that the heat sink model worked properly. The influence of heat sinks on the heat transfer between a PV panel and the circulating ambient air was investigated. The results showed a substantial decrease in the operating temperature of the PV panel and an increase in its electrical performance. The CFD analysis in the heat sink model with an air flow velocity of 1.5 m/s and temperature of 35°C under a heat flux of 1000 W/m2 showed a decrease in the PV panel’s average temperature from 85.3°C to 72.8°C. As a consequence of decreasing its temperature, the heat sink increased the open-circuit photovoltage (VOC) and maximum power point (PMPP) of the PV panel by 10% and 18.67%, respectively. Therefore, the use of aluminum heat sinks could provide a potential solution to prevent PV panels from overheating and may indirectly lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions due to the increased electricity production from the PV system.
Highlights
The use of renewable energy resources is of interest to researchers and governments around the world due to increasing energy consumption and climate change issues caused by the exploitation of conventional energy sources [1]
The results showed that, under low wind conditions, the electrical efficiency of solar cells increases by 0.3% and 0.2% under solar irradiation of 850 W/m2 and 500 W/m2, respectively
This study investigated the application of heat sinks to a PV module performance with a simple combination of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach and experimental testing
Summary
The use of renewable energy resources is of interest to researchers and governments around the world due to increasing energy consumption and climate change issues caused by the exploitation of conventional energy sources [1]. Solar energy is the most abundant renewable energy resource on Earth and could be the solution for the growing demand of global energy consumption [1,2,3]. Photothermal systems utilize the heat energy from solar radiation for various purposes such as crop drying, solar stoves, and solar water heaters [4]. The PV system converts photons from solar radiation directly into electrical energy using solar cell technology [5]. Solar cell technology is widely applied in both small-scale uses, such as street lighting and providing residential electricity, and large-scale uses such as in national power plants [5,6,7]
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