Improving Photovoltaic Module Efficiency Using Water Cooling

Abstract An effective way of improving efficiency and reducing the rate of thermal degradation of a photovoltaic (PV) module is by reducing the operating temperature of its surface. This can be achieved by cooling the module and reducing the heat stored inside the PV cells during operation. In this paper, long-term performance modeling of a proposed solar-water pumping system is carried out. The system, which is used for irrigation purposes, consists of a PV module cooled by water, a submersible water pump, and a water storage tank. Cooling of the PV panel is achieved by introducing water trickling configuration on the upper surface of the panel. An experimental rig is developed to investigate and evaluate PV module performance with the proposed cooling technique. The experimental results indicated that due to the heat loss by convection between water and the PV panel's upper surface, an increase of about 15% in system output is achieved at peak radiation conditions. Long-term performance of the system is estimated by integrating test results in a commercial transient simulation package using site radiation and ambient temperature data. The simulation results of the system's annual performance indicated that an increase of 5% in delivered energy from the PV module can be achieved during dry and warm seasons. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to thank the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the engineer M. A. Hayeh at Hashemite University-Jordan for facilitating the assembly and the tests of the developed system. Saad Odeh is an associate professor of mechanical engineering and research scholar at the University of Sydney, Australia. He received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of New South Wales. His main research area is solar energy and sustainable energy systems. He has published more than 40 papers in international journals and conferences. He is a member of Association Building Sustainability Assessors, Sydney. Masud Behnia obtained his BS, MS, and Ph.D. from Purdue University. Prior to starting his own academic career, he had an extensive period in the power industry. He has worked in experimental and numerical fluid mechanics and heat transfer for more than 25 years. Results of his research have been widely published in journals and conferences, and his career total publications include more than 300 refereed papers. He is currently the dean of Graduate Studies and professor at the University of Sydney, Australia.