Thermal Analysis and Design Optimization of Photovoltaic Module for Improved Heat Dissipation From Photovoltaic Module

Abstract

The performance of a photovoltaic (PV) module is largely dependent on the temperature of the PV cell. Hence, heat management in a PV module is crucial to improving the performance and predicting the generated energy. The thermal conductivity of the backsheet affects the direction of the heat dissipation inside the module, with the heat generated by the cell and transferred through the backsheet increasing with increasing thermal conductivity of the backsheet, resulting in improved heat conduction in the in-plane direction. In this article, the temperature of the PV cell in two modules with different types of backsheet was predicted through numerical simulation and the results were compared with experimental results. The factors that affect the heat dissipation in the PV module and the heat dissipation mechanism were investigated, and a thermally efficient structure for improving the PV module performance was developed.