Performance assessment of a novel design concentrated photovoltaic system coupled with self-cleaning and cooling processes

The generation of electrical energy with photovoltaic modules is a highly useful and environmentally friendly method. For this reason, studies to increase the electrical energy production from photovoltaic (PV) modules have gained great importance. Concentrated PV systems constitute a significant part of these studies. The major problems with the concentrated PV systems are the risks of lowering the efficiency of the cells (i.e., concentration process increases PV cell temperature) and the thermal damage that can occur with sudden temperature increases. In order to avoid these risks, various applications are used to cool concentrated PV modules. In this study, an active system, which was developed for cleaning and cooling PV modules, was tested. The aim of the present study was to ensure that the surfaces were clean and free of external, contaminating factors such as dust and dirt, and that the PV cells were cooled. During the experiments, two different systems were compared: the system with the cleaning-cooling processes and the one without these processes. Prior to starting experiments, a hydrophobic liquid onto the surfaces of the PV modules was applied to facilitate the cleaning process. The results of the experiments revealed that the temperature of the PV module was 50 degrees C in the cleaning-cooling process and 67 degrees C in the system without the cleaning-cooling process. On the other hand, it was observed that the proposed design increased the power output of PV module up to 40%.