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Improving The Performance of
Photovoltaic Panels by Using Airflow
Cooling
Name: Mohamad Kastalani
ID:g22691
Professor: Dei. Tsutomu
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1- Objectives:
1. Improving performance of photovoltaic panels (PVs) by using
cooling technique.
2. Designing and choose the suitable cooling Tanique.
3. Studying the effect of the chosen technique using simulation
and experimental studies the simulation program is
SOLIDWORKS
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Problem facing solar panel
High temperatures negatively affect the performance of
solar panels, reducing their efficiency
Efficiency decreases as temperatures exceed 25°C due
to the temperature-sensitive electrical characteristics of
semiconductors in solar cells.
Increased temperature raises internal resistance in the
solar cell, decreasing voltage output and slightly
increasing current, leading to a notable decrease in
efficiency and output power
The efficiency reduction ranges from 0.3% to 0.5% per
degree Celsius above 25°C, varying by the type of solar
panel
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2- Types of PV Panel:
Mono crystalline Silicon PV
Thin Film
Poly crystalline Silicon PV
(PERC)
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Choosing the type of PV
Choose Monocrystalline solar PV
High Efficiency: Monocrystalline solar panels typically have efficiency rates
ranging from 15% to 20% or higher, producing more electricity per square meter
compared to other types.
Durability: Monocrystalline panels are more durable than alternatives like
polycrystalline or thin-film panels.
Performance in Dim Light: They perform better in low-light conditions compared
to other panel types.
Cost: Monocrystalline panels may have a moderate cost compared to other types.
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3- Cooling Technique :
Air flow cooling
Water cooling
Using phase change materials
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Choosing the cooling technique
Effectiveness: Heat sinks effectively keep solar panels cooler,
improving their performance.
Ease and Safety: They are easy and safe to use, unlike some other
cooling devices.
Low Cost: Heat sinks are low-cost to operate.
Maintenance-Free: They do not require maintenance as they have
no moving parts
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Air cooling using heatsink
There is a three main types of heatsinks flat heatsink , pinned
heatsink and finned heatsink
The cooling is natural and forced convection
Heat dissipation is affected by many factors that affect heat
transfer, such as size, weight, thickness, height, number of fins,
and spacing
the finned heat sink is better than pinned and flat plate, since the
total area exposed to fluid flow is greater in finned which provide
more cooling and lower temperature gradient.
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Chose solar panel
Output Power:
25W
Peak Voltage:
16V
Open Voltage:
19.2V
Peak Current:
1.56A
Short Circuit Current:
1.65A
Exporting tolerance:
±3%
SLA Battery Voltage:
12V
Dimension:
426*335*18mm
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Design
In this Part, air cooling system was used by four different modeling set under the
same environmental geometrical and environmental conditions using
SOLIDWORKS program the heatsink finned Hight is 15 mm
Standard PV panel
PV panel with 20 fins heat sink
PV panel with 20 fins heat sink with 10 holes with 6mm radius
PV panel with 15 fins heat sink
PV panel with 15 fins heat sink with 10 holes with 6mm radius
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Results
Irradiation
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26,2
26
1000
25,8
800
25,6
25,4
600
25,2
400
25
24,8
200
24,6
0
24,4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011121314151617181920
TIME EVERY 10 MINUTE
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TEMPERATURE IN ° C
IRRADIATION IN W/M^2
1200
Temperature variation
TEMPERATURE IN °C
.
20f H
15 f h
control pv
20 f
15 f
37
35
33
31
29
27
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
TIME EVERY 10 MINE
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Manufacturing the heatsink:
The heatsink with 20 fins and without holes is the chosen
heatsink because of its high effectiveness,
which is very close to the heatsink with holes, but it is
easier to manufacture
The heatsink created in the university small factory
we used adhesive thermal glue to attach it to the back of
the solar panel allow the heat to transfer
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New design
The previous design required time and complexity
for manufacturing
The new designs are easier to assembly and
manufacture and save more time
The new design is made by aluminum angle and
channel
The same glue is used
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Heatsinks
Heatsink 3 has 14 fins with a 40mm fin height and 2mm thickness for both the fins and the base and
the space between fins is 18mm
Heatsink 2 has 8 fins with a 20mm fin height and a 3mm base height. Additionally, it features 2 edge
fins with a thickness of 3mm, and 6 fins with a thickness of 6mm space between fins is 33mm
Heatsink 2 with 8 fins with 20 mm height
Heatsink 3 with 14 fins with 40 mm height
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Experimental setup:
1-Data logger
2-Thermometer
3-Load
4-pyranometer
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Experimental setup
The equipment is the same; the only difference is that we chose a smaller fan because it is more suitable
and helps avoid wasting energy.
The wind speed of the exposed area by fan is 3 m/s in the middle and starts to decrease to around 2.3
m/s near the junction box, eventually reaching 1 m/s in the corners.
The experiment compares the 3 heatsinks with the control solar panel
The experiment measured every one minute
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Each condition name explanation
Name
Explanation
Heatsink 3
Heatsink with 14 fins with 40 mm height fins
Heatsink 2
Heatsink with 8 fins with 20mm height fins
Heatsink1
heatsink with 20 fins with 15 mm heights fins
Control PV
Without heatsink
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Day 2024/5/5
Ambient temperature 28 degree clear day , experiment from 11:00 am 1 pm
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49
20
47
19
45
TEMPERATURE IN °C
EFFICIENCY
Efficiency Variation
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17
16
heatsink 3
heatsink 3
15
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
heatsink 1
control pv
70
TIME IN MINUTE
80
90
100 110 120
Temperature variation
43
41
39
37
heatsink 3
heatsink 1
heatsink 2
control pv
35
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
TIME IN MINUTE
80
90 100 110 120
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Simulation boundary condition
Irradiation
Ambient temperature
The airflow ranges from 3 m/s and 2.3 m/s down to 1 m/s near the corner
Four conditions include the solar panel with the three heatsinks and the
standard solar panel
Control PV without Heatsink
Heatsink 3 with 14 fins and 40 mm height fins
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Heatsink 1 with 20 fins and 15 mm height fins
Heatsink 2 with 8 fins and 20 mm height fins
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Compare simulation and experiment
The condition is the same of 5/5
Heatsink 3: 40 mm Height fins
Heatsink1 : with 15 mm height fins
50
45
40
simulation
expriment
35
30
TEMPERATURE IN° C
TEMPERATURE IN °C
50
45
40
simulation
experiment
35
30
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
TIME IN MINUTE
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
TIME IN MINUTE
80
90 100 110 120
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50
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
simulation
experiment
0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
TIME IN MINUTE
Control PV without heatsink
TEMPERATURE IN °C
TEMPERATURE IN °C
Heatsink 2 : 20 mm Height fins
50
48
46
44
42
40
38
36
34
32
30
simulation
experiment
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
TIME IN MINUTE
80
90 100 110 120
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Thermography camera
Heatsink 3
Heatsink 3
Heatsink 1
Heatsink 2
Heatsink 1 Heatsink 2 Control PV
After 1 hour of cooling
Control PV
After more than 2 hour of cooling
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conclusion
The best heatsink is the one with a 40mm fins height, which increased efficiency by
approximately 3% and boosted power output by around 17%
The temperature decreased on average 5.5 degrees,
The 20-fins heatsink increased efficiency on average by 2.2 % and power output by 13% .
Additionally, the temperature decreased around 4 degrees
The 8-fins heatsink increased efficiency by around 1.3 %, and the power output improved on
average by 8 %. Additionally, the temperature decreased by 2.4 degrees
Simulation and experimental average temperature differences being between 1.4 and 2.1 degrees
Celsius
The two lines follow a similar pattern, suggesting that the simulation generally captures the
dynamics of the experimental setup
THANK YOU !!!
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