Advances in PV and PVT cooling technologies: A review

Cooling with nanofluids has been one of the most promising cooling strategies used to minimize PV module temperature and enhance the performance of the system. This article presents a comprehensive literature survey on the recent advancements in solar PV cooling technologies, the role of nanofluids on the performance of PV thermal systems, the available analyses of PV cooling techniques, the usage of nanofluid as coolant and optical filter, and the effect of combined nanofluid and nano-PCM on the overall performance of the photovoltaic systems. The research outcome indicates that incorporation of active and passive cooling techniques brings about greater reduction in the PV cell temperature that translates to enhancement of PV-efficiency. Using nanofluids in PVT systems was found to improve the PV-efficiency by more than 60% while integration with PCM improves the PVT system efficiency by 32%. It goes without saying that combination of nanofluid and PCM is more effective cooling approach for the enhancement of PV-efficiency. Nanofluids have been shown to perform excellently for spectral splitting applications. The current study identifies the challenges in relation to the use of nanofluids in solar PVT systems.