STUDY OF PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT OF SOLAR PV MODULE WITH COOLING CHANNEL

Abstract

Energy is the most important and significant factor in boosting sustainable and economic development of a country and its availability is considered more important as that eventually leads to self-sufficiency in energy requirement. The reserves of natural gas, petroleum and coal will be exhausted in the very near future as a result total dependence only on fossil fuels is not a wise step. Therefore, alternative energy resources that are renewable, non- polluting, and almost inexhaustible will be the ultimate solution to fulfill energy demand. Photovoltaics (PV) technology is one of the most viable options to generate electricity directly from sunlight without any harmful emissions. This technology has a variety of applications viz. irrigation in agriculture, power source in remote healthcare facilities, domestic lighting, powering of public infrastructure, etc. However, the PV systems are limited by the temperature rise of the solar module due to which output voltage of the system drops. To improve the efficiency of the system it becomes necessary to reduce the temperature of the solar module. The photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) system concept was developed to extract these high temperatures and to make use of this additional heat at some other place. Based on the extensive literature review, it is found that adding an active cooling system to the basic photovoltaic module is an appropriate technique to remove heat from the module. Keeping this in view, the main objective of the present study was to enhance the performance of PV system by adding a fluid cooling channel to the bottom of the active surface of the PV module experimentally. In the current study different system and operating parameters were identified and experimental setup had been designed. After completion of the experimental setup, the experimentations were carried out to collect data regarding module temperature, short circuit current, open circuit voltage, and power output. The experimental results were analyzed and compared for the decrease in module temperature, increase in short circuit current, net gain in the power output and net efficiency gain for modules with liquid cooling and air cooling. Based on the comparison, an optimal selection of a cooling methodology under different operating conditions is recommended.