IMPROVEMENT OF SOLAR PANEL EFFICIENCY

Abstract

With the increase in surface temperature of solar cells or panels their efficiency decreases quite dramatically. To overcome the heating of solar cell surface, water immersion cooling technique can be used i.e. it can be submerged in water so as to maintain its surface temperature and provide better efficiency at extreme temperatures. Temperature effect on the performance of a photovoltaic module is one of the main concerns that face this renewable energy, especially in hot arid regions. Overheating of the PV modules significantly decreases the open circuit voltage and the modules' performance. Water-cooling is created in this work to boost the efficiency of PV modules. Under hot arid weather conditions, various situations are tested: front, back and double cooling. If a direct contact water system is used for the back cooling, a spraying system is used for the front cooling.