Back Of Photovoltaic Panel Research Articles

Thermodynamic analysis of a novel solar photovoltaic thermal collector coupled with switchable air source heat pump system

Solar photovoltaic panel can only convert a small part of solar energy into electricity, and the remaining energy in the form of heat is discharged into the environment. In this paper, a novel solar photovoltaic thermal collector coupled with switchable air source heat pump system was introduced to improve the power generation of photovoltaic panels and effectively use the solar thermal energy, which can meet the requirements of the heating in winter and the cooling in summer. At first, the energy model and exergy model of the system were developed. Meanwhile, R134a, R290, R410A and R717 were selected as the candidate working fluids to remove the heat from the back of photovoltaic panel. Furthermore, a numerical simulation was implemented in MATLAB based on the energy and exergy models, and NIST REFPROP database was associated to obtain thermodynamic properties of the working fluids. And then, the thermodynamic performance of the system using different working fluids was investigated and compared. Finally, the optimal working fluid was determined based on the electrical efficiency, energy utilization coefficient, and exergy efficiency of the system. The results indicated that the electrical efficiency of cooled photovoltaic panel in the system was 4.1%-13.7% higher than that of uncooled photovoltaic panel in winter, and 1.1%∼10.6% in summer. The exergy destruction of the compressor and PVT collector accounts for a large percentage. Interestingly, R717 is the optimal working fluid of the proposed system, where the system has the highest annual energy utilization coefficient of 1.654 and the highest annual exergy efficiency of 0.251. Therefore, the application of the system has the potential for achieving the coupling of the annual photovoltaic cooling and the solar thermal energy utilization.

Experimental investigation of the performance of a sun tracking photovoltaic panel with Phase Change Material

Photovoltaic (PV) power generation is one of the most rapidly growing energy sources, which is affected by the amount of solar radiation and PV temperature. The efficiency of PV panels decreases as their temperature increases. Phase Change Materials (PCMs) can absorb considerable amount of heat when they are used at the back of PV panel. In this experimental work, PCM is used to cool tracking PV panels to increase their power output. The melting dynamics of PCM is very different during tracking compared to previous research on fixed panels. Experiments were conducted under outdoor climate conditions in Melbourne, Australia. The PCM temperature distribution is measured during melting and solidification. Results show that using PCM for tracking PV panel reduces the temperature of the PV panel, thus increasing the efficiency. The efficiency of PV panels with PCM is on average 4.6% higher than that without PCM, with the maximum efficiency increase being 6.8%. Using PCM for the tracking PV panel decreases the temperature of PV panel by, on average for the day, 9.1 °C and the maximum temperature difference is 16.3 °C. This study has applications for tracking panels used in hot environments where summer temperature can significantly affect PV performance.

Simulation study of air and water cooled photovoltaic panel using ANSYS

Demand for alternative energy is growing due to decrease of fossil fuels sources. One of the promising and popular renewable energy technology is a photovoltaic (PV) technology. During the actual operation of PV cells, only around 15% of solar irradiance is converted to electricity, while the rest is converted into heat. The electrical efficiency decreases with the increment in PV panel’s temperature. This electrical energy is referring to the open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current (Isc) and output power generate. This paper examines and discusses the PV panel with water and air cooling system. The air cooling system was installed at the back of PV panel while water cooling system at front surface. The analyses of both cooling systems were done by using ANSYS CFX and PSPICE software. The highest temperature of PV panel without cooling system is 66.3 °C. There is a decrement of 19.2% and 53.2% in temperature with the air and water cooling system applied to PV panel.

Thermal and Electrical Study for PV Panel With Cooling

<p>Paper presents an investigation on photovoltaic (PV) panel with a direct-current (DC) fan cooling system. The DC fan cooling system was installed at the back of PV panel in order to reduce its operating temperature. The performance of PV panel can be affected with the increase of its operating temperature. Therefore, with the aid of the DC fan cooling system, it can enhance the performance by raise the output power generated. However, DC fan cooling system is considered as an active cooling system, whereby it consumes input power in operating it. The thermal behavior of PV panel with different DC fan speeds were observed by using a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software. From the temperature obtained, a current-Voltage (I-V) and power-voltage (P-V) can be formed by using PSPICE due to examine its electrical performance. As the DC fan speed increases, the power input to operate it also increase. Hence, it is crucial to find the optimum speed so that the power generated by PV panel that can be saved is high.</p>