Using CaCl2·6H2O as a phase change material for thermo-regulation and enhancing photovoltaic panels’ conversion efficiency: Experimental study and TRNSYS validation

Abstract

This study aims to investigate how Calcium Chloride Hexahydrate (CaCl2·6H2O) as a phase change material (PCM) can regulate the PV cells temperature and improve the electrical performance of photovoltaic panels in a completely cold environment in Tehran, Iran. Moreover, TRNSYS simulation software was employed to validate the experimental Results. Also, a novel kind of facile and cost-effective system design and data acquisition were introduced. A general analysis for all the experiments’ days and an investigation on a particular day at the end of November for having a closer look was done. Then, a comparison between experimental and simulation results was performed. In this regard, experimental outcomes showed a maximum temperature drop by 26.3∘C (38% of reduction) for the PV-PCM panel compared to the conventional PV module. Furthermore, PV-PCM panel benefited from a power output increase by 1.16 W (24.68% of increase) during November and December. Finally, modeling outcomes followed the experimental data perfectly with very low errors. With this in mind, the minimum and the maximum difference between experimental and simulation results were 0.96% and 8.25% respectively, which demonstrated a great agreement between these data.