Experimental investigation of thermal management techniques for improving the efficiencies and levelized cost of energy of solar PV modules

In this paper, studies have been conducted on the performance of solar PV modules with integration of four different thermal management (cooling) techniques, namely, perforated-ribs-heat-sink under natural convection (PRNC), phase change materials (PCM), galvanized duct with forced convection (GDFC), and ducted fins under forced convection (FDFC). Experiments were conducted with these four cooling techniques incorporated into the solar PV panels. The second law efficiency which measures the maximum possible energy output that can be obtained from the PV panel to that of the available exergy of the sun was used as the main performance metric for the analysis. The results obtained indicated average percentage improvement in second law efficiency of 0%, 33%, 53% and 72% for the PCM, PRNC, GDFC and FDFC, respectively, compared to the control PV module without any cooling technique. Analysis of the results also showed that, the PV panel integrated with FDFC can maintain more stable and relatively lower temperatures, averagely 39 °C. The stable temperature for the FDFC has the potential to minimize thermal stresses in the panel, thereby increasing its reliability and life-years. Finally, this study highlights that different levelized costs of energy (LCOEs) exist for solar PV panels incorporated with different cooling techniques.