Experimental investigation on photovoltaic panel integrated with fins and cotton wicks

Low energy efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels is caused by heat generated during solar PV operation. Among the cooling techniques, air cooling of the rear surface of a PV module is a promising method for increasing power output. The present study proposes and experimentally tests a novel air and evaporative cooling method for PV modules based on fins and cotton wicks soaked with water. A comparative study has been conducted on the conventional uncooled PV panel and the PV panel cooled with fins and cotton wicks. The performance of a cooling system is investigated for varying numbers of cotton wicks between the fin spacing in outdoor conditions in India. The results showed that the fins reduced the average cell temperature (${{\rm{T}}_{\rm{c}}}$Tc) of the PV module by about 3%-18% and maintained it within the range of 38.5 degrees C-54.5 degrees C. Further, due to the decrease ${{\rm{T}}_{\rm{c}}}$Tc, power output (${{\rm{P}}_{\rm{o}}}$Po) and energy efficiency (${{\rm{\eta }}_{\rm{e}}}$eta e) improved by 14.2-16.52% and 1.22-1.2%, respectively. The cotton wicks between the fins provided an additional cooling effect to the panel, lowering the ${{\rm{T}}_{\rm{c}}}$Tc to 34.73 degrees C-49.33 degrees C and increasing ${{\rm{P}}_{\rm{o}}}$Po and ${{\rm{\eta }}_{\rm{e}}}$eta e by 6.15%-25% and 1.33%-1.99%, respectively. The optimum PV performance was achieved with eight cotton wicks within the fins. The proposed cooling system reduced the levelized cost of energy for uncooled PV from 0.95 $/kWh to 0.85 $/kWh.