Operating Temperature Of Photovoltaic Panel Research Articles

Predictive Modeling of Solar PV Panel Operating Temperature over Water Bodies: Comparative Performance Analysis with Ground-Mounted Installations

Solar panel efficiency is significantly influenced by its operating temperature. Recent advancements in emerging renewable energy alternatives have enabled photovoltaic (PV) module installation over water bodies, leveraging their increased efficiency and associated benefits. This paper examines the operational performance of solar panels placed over water bodies, comparing them to ground-mounted solar PV installations. Regression models for panel temperature are developed based on experimental setups at BITS Pilani, India. Developed regression models, including linear, quadratic, and exponential, are utilized to predict the operating temperature of solar PV installations above water bodies. These models incorporated parameters such as ambient temperature, solar insolation, wind velocity, water temperature, and humidity. Among these, the one-degree regression models with three parameters outperformed the models with four or five parameters with a prediction error of 5.5 °C. Notably, the study found that the annual energy output estimates from the best model had an error margin of less than 0.2% compared to recorded data. Research indicates that solar PV panels over water bodies produce approximately 2.59% more annual energy output than ground-mounted systems. The newly developed regression models provide a predictive tool for estimating the operating temperature of solar PV installations above water bodies, using only three meteorological parameters: ambient temperature, solar insolation, and wind velocity, for accurate temperature prediction.

Enhancing PV solar panel efficiency through integration with a passive Multi-layered PCMs cooling system: A numerical study

Photovoltaic (PV) solar cells are at the forefront of sustainable electricity generation technologies, yet they exhibit relatively low efficiency. Typically, less than 20 % of the solar energy absorbed is converted into electrical energy, with the remainder converts into heat. This heat increases the PV panel's operating temperature, negatively impacting its efficiency and life expectancy. To mitigate this, a novel approach using multi-layered phase change materials (PCMs) has been examined in this study. The approach involves integrating organic PCMs (OPCMs) with metallic PCMs (MPCMs), enhancing PV panel cooling efficiency by attaching the multi-layer PCM to the panel's rear. This study, employing ANSYS FLUENT software's solidification and melting model, explores the impact of multi PCM layers thickness and total multi layers thickness on PV cell temperature and electrical efficiency. The analysis reveals that a multi-layered PCMs configuration with a thickness ratio of 15:85 between MPCM (CERROLOW-117® alloy) and OPCM (RT44) significantly decreases temperature rise in PV cells, resulting in a temperature drop of 59.6 °C. This improvement boosts PV panel performance by an average of 35.8 % compared to panels lacking cooling systems during peak sun hours under hot climate conditions characterized by ambient temperatures of 40 °C and high solar radiation exceeding 1000 W/m². This suggests that a carefully optimized PCM layering approach could markedly improve PV system efficiency, offering a practical solution to the overheating problem and extending the operational life of PV installations.

Experimental study of solar PV/T panel to increase the energy conversion efficiency by air cooling

An increase in the operating temperature of photovoltaic (PV) panels caused by high levels of solar irradiation can affect the efficiency and lifespan of PV panels. In this study experimental analysis to investigate the reduction in the operating temperature of PV panels with an air-cooling system. The proposed experimental setup was designed and attached to the back of the PV panel. In this paper, the experimental study of solar PV penal with and without bottom air cooling system to reduce the operating temperature of photovoltaic panel is presented. The experimental investigation of solar PV panel was conducted with different mass flow rate of air. The influence of mass flow rate of air on the heat transfer from a PV panel and the circulating ambient air was investigated. The results showed a substantial decrease in the operating temperature of the PV panel and an increase in its electrical performance. The average PV penal temperature is reduced to 9 °C. The mass flow rate of air was 0.08 kg/sec, average maximum bottom surface temperatures with and without air cooling are 45.60 0C and 50.24 0C.As a consequence of decreasing its temperature, there is increased in the electrical energy conversion efficiency of the PV penal from 7 to 12.6%. Therefore, the use of air cooling system could provide a potential solution to prevent PV panels from overheating.

Experimental studies on photovoltaic-thermal heat pump water heaters using variable frequency drive compressors

The present work attempts to devise an efficient method utilizing an on-grid photovoltaic-thermal heat pump water heater (PV-THPWH) integrated with a real-time variable frequency controller to achieve the goal of energy-efficient buildings. The prime focus is to reduce the grid's dependence on the compressor's energy-intensive operation by employing a feedback-controlled variable frequency drive (VFD). Additionally, the possibilities involved with addressing the electrical and thermal energy requirements of an energy-efficient building was investigated utilizing the proposed system. R-32 refrigerant in the photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) evaporator coils of the heat pump assembly help to cool the photovoltaic (PV) panel while delivering the absorbed heat in the condenser to heat water contained inside the storage tank. Outdoor experiments and theoretical investigations of the combined system were carried out to appraise the dynamic behavior under varying solar irradiation and ambient temperature conditions. The observations conveyed that the PV-THPWH system succeeded in reducing the PV panel operating temperature by 25%, which resulted in a 20% increment in PV power output. Also, the performance indicators, such as the instantaneous energy efficiency and instantaneous PV efficiency, were found to increase by 15% and 34%, respectively, resulting in an average coefficient of performance of 6.4. For a clear sky day, the recorded total PV energy output was 4.67 units, while the VFD compressor consumption was 3.42 units, and the surplus 1.25 units were sent to the grid. Furthermore, the economic analysis reported a payback period of 2.3 years for the developed PV-THPWH system.

Analysis of novel passive cooling strategies for free-standing silicon photovoltaic panels

Silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) panels are sensitive to operating temperatures, especially during exposure to high solar irradiation levels. The sensitivity of PV panels is reflected through the reductions in photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency (electrical efficiency) and in PV panel lifetime due to thermal fatigue. In this study, different and novel passive cooling strategies were proposed and numerically investigated for the case of 50-W market-available free-standing silicon PV panels. The focus of the research was to examine the effect of the proposed modifications on the temperatures of the specific PV panel layers as well as on the velocity contours. The used numerical model was upgraded based on a previously developed numerical model that was validated through an experimental manner. Three different passive cooling scenarios were numerically investigated, and the most promising one was the case where the PV panel was provided with slits through the front PV panel surface resulting in a reduction of about 4 °C for the PV panel operating temperature. The other examined cases proved to be less effective with the detected temperature reduction being less than 1.0 °C. The consideration of novel PV panel frame materials was found to be a viable possibility. It was also found that all the proposed modifications can generally lead to the performance improvement in the PV panels and reduce the materials spent on the production of commercial PV panels.

Climate response of a BiPV façade system enhanced with latent PCM-based thermal energy storage

Building-integrated photovoltaic (BiPV) systems applied within a building envelope exhibit limited efficiency and durability due to their insufficient cooling capabilities. Thus, the need to decrease their operating temperature and increase overall electricity production poses relevant research challenges. The application of a phase change material (PCM) to the rear side of a PV module can provide both a decrease in PV panel temperature and thermal energy storage as well. The objective of the presented study is to identify the climate response of latent thermal energy storage (TES) integrated into a ventilated photovoltaic (PV) façade system. The main attention is focused on the thermophysical properties of the employed PCM in terms of the utilization of its overall latent heat capacity through the diurnal cycle of a day in the context of the mutual interaction between incident solar radiation and outside air temperature. A comparative investigation was conducted using experimental measurements taken during outdoor climate tests with the aim of determining the real performance of the façade system. The experimental results revealed that the effect on PV panel operating temperature of installing the selected PCM on the rear side of the panels is significant mainly at midday when high solar radiation is present.

Simulation study on photovoltaic panel temperature under different solar radiation using computational fluid dynamic method

The electrical production is the primary performance of any solar photovoltaic (PV) system. The PV panel operating temperature is inversely proportional to the electrical production of the PV panel. The operating temperature of PV panel is influenced by solar radiation absorbed and the ambient temperature. In the present work, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method is used to investigate a three-dimensional (3-D) model of a PV panel. It is also essential to estimate the thermal behaviour of the PV panel under various environmental conditions. The primary purpose of this current work is to analyse temperature distribution from the PV panel under given operating conditions. The model geometry is built by using CATIA design software. ANSYS software was simulated the different intensity of solar radiation that applied to the PV panel in order to observe the temperature distribution on each layers of the PV panel. The ambient temperature of the simulation is fixed 35 °C according to the maximum ambient temperature captured in Malaysia. The simulation results show that an increase in solar radiation intensity along with the PV panel operating temperature increase.

Thermal Management of Flat Photovolatic Panels using Serrated Fins to Increase Electrical Output

The electrical power output of photovoltaic (PV) cell depends on its operating temperature during its absorption of solar radiation and conversion of solar energy to electrical energy. The increase in PV panel temperature due to overheating negates its electrical yield and efficiency. In addition, overheating causes hot spots, failure of adhesive seals and delamination. An effective way to combat this problem is to reduce the operating temperature of PV panel by cooling. In the present work, a novel thermal management technique for improved cooling of flat PV panel is proposed with the use of serrated fins rather than straight fins. For this reason, the thermal and electrical performance of the flat PV panel with cooling system consisting of duct, brushless DC cooling fan, a plate fin and serrated fins of varying angles (30o, 45o and 60o) made up of aluminium were investigated experimentally. Experiments were conducted at constant wind velocity (1 m/s) with the developed technique in the location of Tiruchirappalli (78.6 E to 10.8 N), Tamil Nadu, India with flat 10 W PV panel. By using serrated fins of varying angles of 30o, 45o, 60o and plate fin (90°), the temperature of the PV panel decreased by a maximum of 4oC, 7oC, 6oC and 3oC respectively. Similarly the PV power increased in the range of 15.38%, 61.53%, 41.53% and 7.69% for 30o, 45o, 60o and plate fin (90°) respectively. It is concluded that 45o angled serrated fin is more efficient in providing the cooling effect than the other angles of serrated fins considered.

Experimental investigation of the passive cooled free-standing photovoltaic panel with fixed aluminum fins on the backside surface

This paper deals with a passive cooling technique for photovoltaic (PV) panels in order to increase energy conversion efficiency through a reduced PV panel operating temperature. The proposed passive cooling technique consists of aluminum fins mounted with epoxy conductive glue on the backside surface of the PV panel (Si-poly, 50 W panel examined). Two specific rib configurations, i.e. geometries were considered in order to enhance the cooling rate from the backside surface of PV panel. The first configuration was obtained from parallel positioned aluminum fins (L-profile), while the second configuration was obtained from randomly positioned perforated L profiles. The first approach was found to be less efficient than the second one, so it was not further analysed. Main issue with the first configuration was related to its low efficiency improvement during periods of lower solar irradiation levels. The second approach, i.e. the modified geometry showed better performance response throughout the insolation spectrum, averaging about 2% in efficiency improvement relative to the total power output for the specific obtained measurement period. Further, with the specific rib geometry proposed, a more intense cooling rate was achieved. Measurements were obtained in November for a geographical location of City of Split, coast side of Croatia. The presented results in this study are useful as they provide deeper insight into the heat transfer phenomena, i.e. the general influence of a passive cooling technique with wind gusts and the limitations it brings. The examined cooling technique showed potential; however, it should be tested on a PV system with a longer measurement period in order to be able to get more precise results, which include longer periods of typical season weather and which could be also useful to determine potential effect of the cooling technique on the PV panel operating lifetime. The main benefit of the proposed passive cooling technique is reflected through more efficient PV systems, and potential increase of the lifetime of PV panels, by lowering their operating temperature.

Analysis of flow separation effect in the case of the free-standing photovoltaic panel exposed to various operating conditions

During its operation, a photovoltaic (PV) panel is exposed to various and in general, stochastic thermal and wind conditions, which have a significant influence on the PV panel operating temperature. The increased PV panel operating temperatures normally have an unfavorable effect on the PV panel performance and lifetime, thus various cooling methods were proposed in order to increase the photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency. A reasonable step before the consideration of a specific cooling strategy is to obtain a PV panel performance analysis with respect to its surroundings (specific geographical micro location) for various operating conditions. This paper presents such a study, which was conducted through an experimentally validated numerical model. Numerous CFD simulations regarding heat and fluid flow around a monocrystalline PV panel coupled with a heat flow simulation inside the PV panel elements were conducted. The aim of the paper was to investigate an effective heat transfer field and the variations in the PV panel temperatures with respect to various wind velocities and heat source conditions. A detailed study regarding pressure, viscous and body (buoyancy) forces as well as their effects on flow separation was also conducted. The study also investigated the changes in the effective heat transfer near the PV panel. The gained results in this study turned out to be useful for the consideration of a specific cooling strategy for PV panels, which can ultimately lead to an increase in PV panel efficiency and lifetime. Additionally, the conducted study could be used to improve the delivered electricity prediction from the PV system at a selected location defined by specific wind velocities and solar insolation distributions.

Analysis of photovoltaic with water pump cooling by using ANSYS

Almost all regions in the world are facing with problem of increasing electricity cost from time to time. Besides, with the mankind’s anxiety about global warming, it has infused an ideology to rapidly move towards renewable energy sources since it is believed to be more reliable and safer. One example of the best alternatives to replace the fossil fuels sourced is solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) panel is used to convert the sunlight into electricity. Unfortunately, the performance of PV panel can be affected by its operating temperature. With the increment of ambient temperature, the PV panel operating temperature also increase and will affect the performance of PV panel (in terms of power generated). With this concern, a water cooling system was installed on top of PV panel to help reduce the PV panel’s temperature. Five different water mass flow rate is tested due to investigate their impact towards the thermal performance and heat transfer rate.