Thermal Model of Silicon Photovoltaic Module with Incorporation of CFD Analysis

The quantification of operating temperature of photovoltaic modules is essential to understand the performance losses and degradation due to thermal conditions. In this work, we have developed a thermal model to accurately predict the temperature of the photovoltaic (PV) module. The crux of the model relies on extracting the average convective heat transfer coefficient by solving fluid flow dynamics using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation and using it along with the material properties of the constituent layers namely thermal conductivity, absorptivity, and emissivity in a one-dimensional thermal model to accurately predict the average temperature of the solar cell and other constituent layers of the PV module. The comparison of the result obtained from the theoretical model and that obtained experimentally under multiple ambient conditions showed an average error of 0.53%. The theoretical model was thereafter used to predict the solar cell temperature under two different mounting configurations, namely rack mounted and insulated back. The results showed that under an extreme condition of zero wind speed and a solar insolation of 1100 W/m(2), the temperature differential for rack mounted was 25 degrees C while that for insulated back was 60 degrees C. In hot and dry conditions, which is characterized by high ambient temperature and solar insolation, the use of insulated back configuration can be challenging as the temperature of the constituent layers of the PV module can reach above 100 degrees C for certain ambient conditions.