Abstract
Photovoltaic (PV) panels must be equipped with a cooling system to increase their electrical output generation. Despite numerous publications on the fabrication of form-stable phase change material (FSPCM) for thermal energy storage application, studies on the usage of FSPCM for PV cooling are incredibly limited. In this work, the cooling performance of myristic acid FSPCM encapsulated with cross-linked nitrile rubber (NBR) was investigated. A fin heat sink (FHS) was employed to hold the FSPCM. The thermal performance of the FHS embedded with FSPCM (FHS-FSPCM) was preliminarily tested in an indoor setup. Results show that the FHS-FSPCM has a lower temperature distribution curve than the bare FHS, highlighting the increase in cooling capability of fabricated FSPCM. Field-testing of PV panels integrated with an FHS-FSPCM displayed that FSPCM manages to reduce the operating temperature of the panel by 4 to 15 °C and increase power output generation by 38.61%.
Highlights
The temperature distribution of the fin heat sink (FHS) and FHS-form-stable phase change material (FSPCM) was analyzed with the continuous power supplies of 10, 20, and 30 W
The temperature recorded by the thermocouples in the system with only FHS is higher compared to the system with FHS-FSPCM
The cooling capability of FSPCM was determined via preliminary indoor setup, whereby the temperature distribution curve of FHS-FSPCM was consistently kept below the FHS’s curve
Summary
Typical photovoltaic (PV) panels convert 15% to 22.5% of solar power into electricity, whereas the remaining is turned into heat [1]. This unproductive heat energy contributes to an increase in the PV panels’ operating temperature and reduces its maximum power output production due to an increase in carrier concentration at the p-n junction.
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