Theoretical and Numerical Analysis of a Passive Cooling System for a Commercial Photovoltaic Module

Abstract

The installed solar energy capacity increased in Brazil up to 169% from 2018 to 2019. Although photovoltaic systems do not require deep maintenance, the efficiency of photovoltaic modules is decreased from 0.40 to 0.50% for each °C gained in the operating temperature. Thus, depending on the environmental conditions, a cooling system is necessary to increase the durability and efficiency of the project. The present work analyzes the generation of an installed photovoltaic module (PV module) and performs a theoretical and numerical study for the system's thermal behavior, depending on the experimental conditions, including the impact of adding extended surfaces (fins) on the average module temperature. The passive cooling system consists of 36 L-shaped aluminum fins arranged in the central region on the backside surface of the PV module. The theoretical model for predicting the temperature of the PV module without a coupled cooling system was satisfactory compared with the values obtained experimentally; the numerical model presented similar results to the experimental ones, validating the simulation. A reduction in the average temperature of the module was observed with the use of fins as a passive cooling system (an average temperature reduction of 8 °C, in the analytical study, corroborated by a reduction of 8.8 °C in the numerical simulation compared to the experimental data).