Thermal Management of Solar Panels for Overall Efficiency Enhancement Using Different Cooling Techniques

Solar energy offers various advantages, including ease of access and improved predictability compared to other renewable energy sources in vogue. This energy source is used for a variety of applications, including power generation, desalination, and heating. PV panels are commonly used to generate direct electricity. The acquired solar thermal energy, on the other hand, it can be used to generate electricity indirectly via a medium like a solar tower. PV panels are being utilised for small-scale and off-grid energy generation, and their efficiency is affected by a number of factors such as operating temperature, the material used in their construction and solar irradiation. Also the conversion efficiency of the PV panels reduces as the temperature increases. This paper discusses various cooling approaches that can be used to lower the operating temperature of PV cells. The goal of this review study is to improve the performance of small household PV systems by keeping cell temperatures as low as possible and uniform. The influence of the operating temperature of the cells using various cooling strategies are also discussed along with the electrical efficiency. This study looks at the benefits and drawbacks of passive and active cooling on the operating performance of PV panel.