Design of Augmented Cooling System for Urban Solar PV System

Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels have been widely used to convert the renewable energy from the sun to electrical energy to power electrical loads but suffers from relatively low efficiency between 15% to 22%. Typically, the panels have an average lifespan of 25 to 30 years but could degrade quicker due to the panel overheating. Beyond the optimum working temperature of 25 degrees C, a drop of efficiency by 0.4 to 0.5% for every 1 degrees C had been reported. For solar PV applications in urban regions, passive cooling is beneficial due to limited amount of space and lower energy consumption compared to active cooling. A solar PV system with augmented cooling was conducted at a balcony of a condominium from 10am until 2pm. The solar PV system consisted of an Arduino controller, solar panel module, temperature sensor and LCD monitor. Reusable cold and hot gel packs were attached to the bottom of the solar PV. Both setups of solar PV panel with and without the cooling system were placed at the balcony simultaneously for measurement of temperature, output voltage and current. From this research, the outcome of implementing a cooling system to the solar PV increases the efficiency of the energy conversion.