Power and Thermal Analysis of A Pcm-Cooled Photovoltaic Thermal System With A 1-D Mathematical Model for Different Environmental and Boundary Conditions: A Case Study

Abstract

Reducing the PV panel temperature significantly increases the PV panel efficiency. The most important parameters affecting the temperature of the PV panel are; environmental temperature, wind speed, sunbathing time, and irradiation. Although there are many methods for PV panel cooling, one of the most common methods is to cool the panel by placing PCM material on the PV panel's bottom surface. In this study, PV/PCM integration under different boundary conditions was investigated with a 1-D mathematical model. In the study, environmental conditions were determined using real meteorological data, and the results were shared for four seasons. The mathematical model was performed for the conventional PV model, the PV/PCM integrated model, and the integrated PV/PCM which the base is kept at a constant temperature. As a constant temperature value, 10, 15, and 20 oC were chosen. The results were analyzed in terms of PV temperature, PCM melting rate, electricity production, energy absorbed by PCM, and thermal and electrical efficiency. If the annual performances are examined, the maximum electricity production is 263000 kW for the case where the PV/PCM base is kept constant at 10 degrees, and this value is 1200 kW higher than the traditional PV panel. The maximum absorbed energy by PCM was obtained as 26990 kW for the PV/PCM integration.

Keywords

• mathematical model
• phase change metarial
• photovoltaic panel