Techno-Economic Feasibility of Applying Sugarcane Waxbased Phase Change Material to Lower Photovoltaic Panel Temperature

Abstract

A reduction in power output from a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel is caused by a high operating temperature resulting mitigating economic benefits. Therefore, phase change material (PCM) situated in the back of a solar panel is used to maintain the surface temperature of the panel close to ambient. This research aimed to improve solar power generation efficiency by selecting a suitable thickness of encapsulated phase change material (EPCM) based on energy efficiency and economic analysis. At the increase of the EPCM layer thickness from 4 mm to 7 mm, the maximum power generation efficiency was improved by 15.86% owing to the EPCM heat storage capacity. The efficiency of solar panels-7 mm layer EPCM module was 6% higher than the PVs without EPCM. Adding an EPCM on the back of a solar panel lasted 16 days under natural conditions. However, a net present value (NPV) over a 25-year project of solar systems with a 7 mm thick EPCM layer is negative while that of solar systems without EPCM is more profitable than that of solar systems with a 4 mm thick EPCM layer. Applying sensitivity analysis to NPV of PV-EPCM modules was studied under changes in material cost of EPCM and power feed-in tariff. The result of sensitivity analysis of PV-7 mm thick EPCM layer shows 40% reduction in material cost of EPCM or 50% increase of energy price contributes to positive profitability.