Experimental assessment of thermoelectric cooling on the efficiency of PV module

Seepana PraveenKumar, Ephraim Bonah Agyekum, Mohammed A. Qasim, Naseer T. Alwan, Vladimir I. Velkin, Sergey E. Shcheklein

Abstract


Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy is currently among the most utilized energies within the renewable energy (RE) industry for the generation of electricity. The technology which is used in converting the solar radiation into electrical power however has some demerits, one of which is its dependence on its operating temperature i.e., it’s performance decreases with increase in temperature. This study therefore used a thermo-electric cooling mechanism to cool a PV panel under real weather conditions. Results from the experimental process shows a significant temperature reduction in the modified PV module (i.e., cooled panel), an average temperature of 33.37 ? was recorded for the cooled PV module against 45.60 ?. This is a 12.23 ? reduction in the PV module temperature which resulted in an electrical efficiency enhancement of 5.07%. The economics of the module suggests that the cooled module registered a levelized cost of electricity (LCE) of 0.410 $/kWh for a 365-day period whiles the referenced module recorded 0.414 $/kWh for the same period. Despite the relatively high investment cost of the cooled module due to the extra cost associated with the cooling system, it still recorded a relatively lower LCE. This is due to the high power it generated during the experimental period

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DOI (PDF): https://doi.org/10.20508/ijrer.v12i3.13087.g8553

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