Experimental optimization of the Si photovoltaic panels cooling system on maximum allowable temperature criteria

This paper aims to find an optimal maximum allowable temperature for a cooling system of a photovoltaic panel. As the operating temperature of a photovoltaic cell increases, its efficiency significantly decreases. Overheating due to excessive solar radiation is one of the main obstacles faced by photovoltaic panels, especially in hot and arid regions. This is why, several cooling systems have recently been integrated into photovoltaic panels. The power consumption of the cooling systems affects the total amount of energy harvested, whereas the goal is to increase it by reducing the operating temperature. It is therefore, necessary to find an optimal value for the maximum allowable temperature which can reduce the cooling system energy consumption while maintaining thermal efficiency at acceptable levels. The maximum allowable temperature is the threshold at which the cooling system activates and reduces the operating temperature to the ambient temperature, where it is deactivated. The activation/deactivation frequency increases when the maximum allowable temperature is low and vice versa. Experimental measurements of the net harvesting energy validated by analytical calculation shows that 45 °C the optimal value of the maximum allowable temperature for the studied system. The procedure proposed in this paper will increase the net efficiency of the photovoltaic panel equipped with such a cooling system. The originality of this paper lies in the fact that it takes into account the negative contribution of the power consumption of a cooling system coupled with a PV panel.