Abstract
Heat generation during the operation of the photovoltaic (PV) cell raises its temperature and results in reduced electrical output. The heat produced in the process can be removed by attaching phase change material (PCM) at the back of the PV panel which can contain the PV temperature substantially and increase its efficiency. Fins can be used inside the PCM container to enhance the heat transfer. In literature, it is observed that as soon as PCM is melted completely, the heat extraction rate of PCM reduces which again leads to increase in PV temperature. However, the study carrying out the optimization of Finned-PV-PCM system to keep PV temperature low during operation for different solar irradiance levels is not available in literature. Thus, in the current study, the most suitable depth of PCM container is calculated for different solar irradiance levels. In addition, how it is affected with spacing between successive fins, fin length and fin thickness has been studied. The best fin dimensions are also calculated. The results show that the most suitable depth of PCM container is 2.8 cm for ∑IT = 3 kWh/m2/day and 4.6 cm for ∑IT = 5 kWh/m2/day for the chosen parameters. The best spacing between successive fins (to keep PV temperature low) is 25 cm, best fin thickness is 2 mm and best fin length is the one when it touches the bottom of the container. PV, PV-PCM and Finned-PV-PCM systems are also compared. For PV-PCM system (without fins), the most suitable depth of PCM container is 2.3 cm for ∑IT = 3 kWh/m2/day and 3.9 cm for ∑IT = 5 kWh/m2/day.
Highlights
PV cells can convert only a fraction of the incident solar radiation into electricity
Once the phase change material is fully melted and has absorbed all the latent heat, there is observed a decrease in the rate of heat extraction because heat that is being extracted is only sensible leading to further rise in PV temperature
It is due to the fact that, for a system having lesser spacing between fins, the displacement of solid portion of phase change material (PCM) is more restricted which leads to lesser temperature variations inside the PCM container along the height resulting in lesser standard deviation of PV temperature
Summary
PV cells can convert only a fraction of the incident solar radiation into electricity. The temperature rise reduces the solar to electricity conversion efficiency of the cell [1]. The studies involving phase change material (PCM) for extracting heat from PV have been reviewed. Huang et al [2] have compared the performance of photovoltaic-phase change material system with fins and no fins inside the PCM container using RT25 and GR40 PCMs. The results show that the deployment of fins can reduce the PV temperature. Sharma et al [9] have integrated the RT42 phase change material in building integrated concentrated photovoltaic and reported an increase of 7.7% in the electrical efficiency at 1000 W/ m2. Huang et al [10] have worked on investigating the system's performance considering crystalline segregation of PCM. Waksol A, RT27 and RT35 phase change materials have been considered for the Nomenclature
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