Modelling Investigation of the Heat Transfer in a Polycrystalline Photovoltaic Module

Abstract

The heat transfer inside a photovoltaic (PV) module is affected by the thermo-physical properties of the module layers, the weather conditions and the surrounding environment. In this work, the heat transfer inside a PV module is described in detail, taking into account realistic boundary conditions at the module surface. We have developed a one-dimensional (1D) thermal model using the finite volume (FV) method. The results of the developed model were validated with the results of the literature. We then tested the reliability of the developed model by comparison with experimental data from the climatic conditions of the region of Errachidia Drâa-Tafilalet, and the data obtained by other empirical and analytical models of the literature. We found that the results of the developed model are in good agreement with the experimental data, and calculates better the temperature of cells.