Thermal Management of PV Panels using passive cooling approaches

Project Title

Thermal Management of PV Panels using passive cooling approaches

Project Area of Specialization Mechanical EngineeringProject Summary

Solar panels are becoming one of the cheapest sources of electricity among green and renewable energy sources. But there's a catch, they have a pretty low electrical efficiency. Our project focuses on enhancing the available potential for converting sunlight into electricity by reducing the panel operating temperature. 

Researchers found out that for every 1 degree Celsius rise in temperature, there an electrical efficiency drop of 0.5% which ultimately translates itself into a longer payback period for initial capital and higher maintenance costs over the lifespan of the panel.

We are using a novel passive cooling approach for cooling the panel temperature by incorporating Phase change materials (PCMs) along with fins. PCM's have a higher capacity for absorbing large amounts of heat without considerable change in their temperature. Thus, making them an ideal candidate for thermal storage and management applications. 

One unique feature of this project is the implementation of a passive approach meaning no external source of energy is required for its operation. Thus, making it affordable and free of any parasitic maintenance costs of pumps and pipes as used in the other proposed methods of active cooling of panels.

Project Objectives

The major objective of our project is to increase the overall efficiency of photovoltaic panels through thermal management whilst keeping in view the finances for the manufacturing process for the efficiency increase such that the price of the final product to be on par with that of the commercially available photovoltaic panel. The efficiency of the photovoltaic panel can be increased through thermal management. What we aim to do is to use passive cooling techniques like phase change materials coupled with nano particles or fins. The application of these passive cooling techniques tend to increase the overall efficiency of the panel without drawing any output power by the panel itself. These phase change materials work by increasing the heat conduction of the panels resulting in the reduced surface temperature of PV panels ultimately resulting in efficiency increase. Among these PCMs paraffin waxes are more commonly available and are relatively more economical than the other PCMs. PCMs coupled with nanoparticles (e.g. Al2O3 ) and fins enhance the overall conductivity of the phase change material ultimately resulting in achieving the required objective. Conclusively, the end goal is to manufacture an economical panel with increased efficiency.

Project Implementation Method

We will use passive cooling techniques in PV panels in order to reduce and maintain the increasing temperatures at an optimum level thereby increasing efficiency. Firstly, we will assemble solar panels from scratch by assembling solar cells in order to minimize the efficiency losses produced during the manufacturing process. Our goal is to build PV panels of 10W and 100W panels.

Later we will design and fabricate a PCM container for the required dimensions, incorporating fins in the design, to increase electrical efficiency further. This container will act as a large heat sink for dissipating the heat from the panels. We will incorporate various sensors like thermocouples in the design to measure the required parameters.

Lastly, we will put the improved PV panel with PCM, through rigorous testing in a solar simulator present in SMME. This simulator is designed to study electrical performance of PV panels with variations in solar intensity and temperature. It can also be used to study the effect of different thermal management methodologies on efficiency and power output of solar cells. We will be testing the thermal management methodologies (PCM, nano-particles, fins), to get various performance plots e.g., cell temperature vs time, electrical power output vs time, electrical conversion efficiency vs time.

Benefits of the Project

Since we are doing the thermal management of solar panels and making it more efficient than the commercially available ones by keeping the cost as minimal as possible it will be designed to produce more power output. So it will reduce energy expenses for a particular period of time. 
Moreover,  it will initially be designed to be installed and run low energy devices. Then along with certain modifications, we will try to further improve the efficiency based on certain factors such as temperature change,  wind direction, and orientation of the panel.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

In terms of the final product, our hardware consists of multiple components unlike traditional panels including but not limited to PCM Container, measuring devices for monitoring operating parameters, assembled panel.

The whole system works in a cyclic manner. During the daytime operation of the solar panel, it is at its highest load which means they have pretty high operating temperatures inculcating the need to reduce their operating temperature. 

The PCM Container at the back of the panel will serve that purpose well. It contains a special kind of material that changes its the phase at the specified melting point and solidifies as the temperature drops to freezing point. 

PCM absorbs a large amount of heat during the daytime as the environmental temperature is very high. As a result, they change their phase from solid to liquid. 

During nighttime as the load reduces and thus, the environmental temperature, the PCM releases a large amount of heat to convert back to the solid-state. Thus, ready for its cyclic operation during the daytime. 

The PCM container will be manufactured from aluminum, giving the advantage of lightweight and better heat transfer characteristics from the panel back towards the PCM.

The solar panels will also be assembled from stretch by soldering the bus wires of individual cells to further improve their efficiency and reduce the adverse effects of assembling methods on efficiency drop. 

All in all, the final deliverable is an all in one product tailored towards meeting the customer demands of the early payback period, higher efficiency, and reduced maintenance and operating costs. 

Final Deliverable of the Project Hardware SystemCore Industry Energy Other IndustriesCore Technology OthersOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Affordable and Clean Energy, Responsible Consumption and ProductionRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	70000
Solar cells	Equipment	50	800	40000
PCM	Equipment	1	10000	10000
Al container	Equipment	1	10000	10000
Testing Equipment	Equipment	1	10000	10000