Experimental performance analysis of two different passive cooling techniques for solar photovoltaic installations

At higher ambient temperatures during summer months, the cell temperature of a photovoltaic (PV) module increases to 50–60 °C and sometimes could go as high as 80 °C due to which the PV module heats up and fails to deliver its optimum output. Active cooling techniques, such as water cooling and fan cooling for controlling and maintaining cell temperature, use energy and therefore do not add value to the efficiency of the modules. This research aims to experimentally evaluate the performance of the locally developed passive cooling technique in two different configurations, i.e. rectangular fins and circular fins applied to the rear surface of similar-sized mono-crystalline PV modules. Thermal and electrical performances of PV modules with and without fins structures have been investigated experimentally for a period of 4 months at the roof of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Mirpur University of Science and Technology, Pakistan. Collected data were critically analyzed, and the effectiveness of each heat exchanging technique is discussed in detail. PV module with rectangular fins having larger cross-sectional and surface area dissipated 155% more heat and generated 10.8% and 4% more power than the reference module and the circular fins-based module, respectively, and resulted in a 10.6% decrement in module temperature and an increase in module efficiency by 14.5%. The circular fins-based module dissipated only 27% more heat than the reference module. Therefore, the PV module with rectangular fins is recommended for the enhanced performance of PV installations.