Numerical study of solar thermal combi system to enhance the passive cooling of PV module

Photovoltaic panels exhibits lower conversion efficiency due to increased surface temperature. Hence the thermal management of panel is important which can be active or passive in nature. However, passive methods are gaining importance due to its inherent advantages. In the present CFD study, the degree of panel cooling is analyzed by optimizing various geometrical parameters of the solar thermal combi system. The optimized geometry yielded air flow rate of 0.034 kg/s which can cool the PV panel by 5 degrees C when exposed to solar radiation level of 800 W/m2. This cooling rate is further validated through experiment. As the solar thermal combi system does air heating and panel cooling processes simultaneously, the overall system efficiency is better and is cost effective compared to two individual units.