Evaluation of New PCM/PV Configurations for Electrical Energy Efficiency Improvement through Thermal Management of PV Systems
Photovoltaic modules during sunny days can reach temperatures 35 °C above the ambient temperature, which strongly influences their performance and electrical efficiency as power losses can be up to −0.65%/°C. To minimize and control the PV panel temperature, the scientific community has proposed dif...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4130 |
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| author | Abdalqader Ahmad Helena Navarro Saikat Ghosh Yulong Ding Jatindra Nath Roy |
| author_facet | Abdalqader Ahmad Helena Navarro Saikat Ghosh Yulong Ding Jatindra Nath Roy |
| author_sort | Abdalqader Ahmad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Photovoltaic modules during sunny days can reach temperatures 35 °C above the ambient temperature, which strongly influences their performance and electrical efficiency as power losses can be up to −0.65%/°C. To minimize and control the PV panel temperature, the scientific community has proposed different strategies and innovative approaches, one of them through passive cooling with phase change materials (PCM). However, further investigation, including the effects of geometric shape, insulation, phase change temperature, ambient temperature, and solar radiation on the PV module power output and efficiency, needs further optimization and research. Therefore, the current work aims to investigate several system configurations and different PCMs (RT42, RT31, and RT25) and compare the system with and without insulation through computational fluid dynamic (CFD) tools. The final goal is to optimise and control the temperature of PV modules and evaluate their system efficiency and energy generation. The results showed that compared with a rectangular shape of the PCM container, the trapezoid-one exhibits a considerably better cooling performance with a negligible variation of the PV temperature, even when the melting temperature of the PCM was lower than the average ambient temperature. Moreover, the study showed that having insulation in the PCM container increases the amount of PCM needed, compared with no insulation case, and the increased amount depends on the PCM type. The newly proposed PV/PCM system configuration shows an efficiency and power generation enhancement of 17% and 14.6%, respectively, at peak times. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:41:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9c5e10d4019945acb227d084efe70c4e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:41:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-9c5e10d4019945acb227d084efe70c4e2023-11-22T03:40:33ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732021-07-011414413010.3390/en14144130Evaluation of New PCM/PV Configurations for Electrical Energy Efficiency Improvement through Thermal Management of PV SystemsAbdalqader Ahmad0Helena Navarro1Saikat Ghosh2Yulong Ding3Jatindra Nath Roy4Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKBirmingham Centre for Energy Storage, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKAdvanced Technology Development Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, IndiaBirmingham Centre for Energy Storage, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKAdvanced Technology Development Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, IndiaPhotovoltaic modules during sunny days can reach temperatures 35 °C above the ambient temperature, which strongly influences their performance and electrical efficiency as power losses can be up to −0.65%/°C. To minimize and control the PV panel temperature, the scientific community has proposed different strategies and innovative approaches, one of them through passive cooling with phase change materials (PCM). However, further investigation, including the effects of geometric shape, insulation, phase change temperature, ambient temperature, and solar radiation on the PV module power output and efficiency, needs further optimization and research. Therefore, the current work aims to investigate several system configurations and different PCMs (RT42, RT31, and RT25) and compare the system with and without insulation through computational fluid dynamic (CFD) tools. The final goal is to optimise and control the temperature of PV modules and evaluate their system efficiency and energy generation. The results showed that compared with a rectangular shape of the PCM container, the trapezoid-one exhibits a considerably better cooling performance with a negligible variation of the PV temperature, even when the melting temperature of the PCM was lower than the average ambient temperature. Moreover, the study showed that having insulation in the PCM container increases the amount of PCM needed, compared with no insulation case, and the increased amount depends on the PCM type. The newly proposed PV/PCM system configuration shows an efficiency and power generation enhancement of 17% and 14.6%, respectively, at peak times.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4130phase change materialphotovoltaic systempassive cooling |
| spellingShingle | Abdalqader Ahmad Helena Navarro Saikat Ghosh Yulong Ding Jatindra Nath Roy Evaluation of New PCM/PV Configurations for Electrical Energy Efficiency Improvement through Thermal Management of PV Systems Energies phase change material photovoltaic system passive cooling |
| title | Evaluation of New PCM/PV Configurations for Electrical Energy Efficiency Improvement through Thermal Management of PV Systems |
| title_full | Evaluation of New PCM/PV Configurations for Electrical Energy Efficiency Improvement through Thermal Management of PV Systems |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of New PCM/PV Configurations for Electrical Energy Efficiency Improvement through Thermal Management of PV Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of New PCM/PV Configurations for Electrical Energy Efficiency Improvement through Thermal Management of PV Systems |
| title_short | Evaluation of New PCM/PV Configurations for Electrical Energy Efficiency Improvement through Thermal Management of PV Systems |
| title_sort | evaluation of new pcm pv configurations for electrical energy efficiency improvement through thermal management of pv systems |
| topic | phase change material photovoltaic system passive cooling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/14/4130 |
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