Reducing PV module temperature with radiation based PV module incorporating composite phase change material

Temperature reduction in a photovoltaic module can improve its efficiency. This paper presents a radiation based photovoltaic module cooled by using composite phase change material that are not in direct contact with the photovoltaic module. A thermal heat transfer network is developed which improves efficiency of the photovoltaic module by using radiation mode to eliminate the issue of phase change material re-conduction, thereby controlling excess thermal energy stagnation in the module. Pure phase change material and composite phase change material are investigated and compared by integrating them 0.6 cm behind the photovoltaic module and performing simulations to determine the optimal thickness of the phase change material matrix. It was found that by using composite phase change material, the thermal resistance between the photovoltaic and the phase change material could be reduced and the photovoltaic module temperature decreased, due to the higher thermal conductivity of the composite phase change material. The simulated efficiency and temperature of the photovoltaic module with composite phase change material installed at the optimum thickness of 2.5 cm were 14.75% and 47.81 C, respectively. The numerical simulation of the new PV-PCM setup was validated experimentally, and simulation results were accurate within an average of 0.4 C.