Experimental Study of a New Cooling Technique for Photovoltaic Systems

Abstract

Photovoltaic solar panels directly convert solar energy into electrical energy but their efficiency is low. The rest of the energy is mostly converted into heat. Although the conversion efficiency of photovoltaic panels is low, heating them increases the temperature of the photovoltaic cells, which leads to a significant decrease in their efficiency and technical life. In This study, it was done Cooling the photovoltaic panels using wet burlap, manufactured with geothermal heat, where they were combined by placing the panels in an aluminum casing to receive the cold air from underground. The cover is on a tube connected to small channels and small underground channels. These channels in the ground, connected to a fan, allow air to be transferred to the burlap to cool it. Moreover, since the burlap is attached behind the solar cell the thermal load is reduced to a minimum. This system works to absorb the heat extracted from the panel into the burlap. Experimental results showed that the cooling system is able to remove about 5 degrees of heat compared to the other panel