A systematic approach for a better thermal management of photovoltaic systems- A review

Solar energy is the highly recognized energy source, capable of fulfilling the world’s future energy demands. The solar photovoltaic technology involves the unmediated transformation of sunlight into electricity. A little fraction is converted into electricity and the remaining gets exhausted as unused heat. This results in an increase in the operating temperature of the PV Panel. The conversion efficiency and the life span of the photovoltaic panel are affected by an increase in working temperature. Hence, an appropriate cooling technique is essentially required for maintaining the operating temperature of the module within the limits prescribed so as to obtain higher electrical yield and increased lifespan. The objective of this paper is to present a summary of the various cooling techniques used to enhance the performance of PV panels, namely air cooling - free and forced, water spray cooling, cooling by phase change materials, heat pipe cooling, liquid immersion cooling and forced water circulation. Several research articles are reviewed and classified on the basis of technology used for the thermal management of PV modules. The paper also investigates one of the passive evaporative cooling technique to control the temperature rise of the PV module and enhancement in efficiency. Around 12oC reduction in PV panel temperature under maximum insolation and 7.7 % increase in average electric power generation efficiency was observed under this technique.