Improvement of the photovoltaic output performance using hybrid active and passive cooling system

Abstract

This thesis presents the improvement of the photovoltaic (PV) output performance using hybrid active and passive cooling system. The PV technology has been used for several years and has proven successful for power generation, but the challenge is to adapt to local environment conditions, mainly caused by changes in weather conditions. Furthermore, the output power of the PV panel decreases as the operating temperature of the PV panel increases. Therefore, the main purpose of this current research is to design various types of cooling system in order to improve output power of the PV panel. This study has four specific objectives. Firstly, the effects of weather conditions on the thermal behaviour of PV panels were studied using simulation and experimental methods. In the simulation study, the effect of weather conditions in the thermal behaviour of the PV panel was simulated using CATIA and ANSYS simulation software. This study was conducted based on the weather of Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy (CERE), UniMAP, Malaysia. It was shown that as solar irradiance and ambient temperature increased, the operating temperature of the PV panel increased. As the wind speed increased, the operating temperature of the PV panel decreased. In the experimental study, the dust appearing on the surface of the PV panel resulted in a decrease in the performance of the PV panel. However, the presence of wind on the surface of the PV panel resulted in an increase in the performance of the PV panel. Secondly, the PV panels with various types of cooling system were designed and simulated using ANSYS simulation software in order to analyse their thermal behaviour under weather conditions of CERE, Perlis. This included direct current (DC) fan cooling system, DC water pump cooling system, paraffin wax cooling system, hybrid DC water pump and paraffin wax cooling system as well as hybrid DC water pump and DC fan cooling system. The results showed that the PV panel with hybrid DC water pump and DC fan cooling system has the lowest operating temperature of 35.43 °C compared to other PV panels.