INVESTIGATION ON PV COOLING EFFECTIVENESS UTILIZING DIVERSE EVAPORATIVE COOLING PAD MATERIALS INCORPORATING ENERGY, EXERGY, AND ECO-ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATIONS

Abstract

Solar radiation enables photovoltaic (PV) modules to generate electricity, while infrared rays from the sun raise the module's surface temperature. This lowers harvestable electricity and module efficiency. Thus, worthwhile cooling is required to increase system efficiency and durability. Evaporative cooling is reliable for hot temperature regions (i.e. Egypt), especially when employing environmentally friendly pad materials. This study involved measuring the output power of four identical 150 W monocrystalline photovoltaic modules. Comparable to conventional, three of the photovoltaic systems incorporate evaporative cooling pads on their rear surfaces, constructed from various materials, including cellulose, luffa, and straw. Tests on modified PVs were conducted at various cooling water flow rates ranging from 1 to 3 L/min under summer and winter seasonal conditions. The cellulose pad encompasses the largest average surface temperature drop ratio (STDR) compared to the reference PV; during summer, it is 10.6–13.36%, whereas winter ratios are 16.42–18.7% depending on coolant flowrate. The STDR results from the cellulose evaporative cooling technique PV (C/EC-PV) revealed the highest harvested daily power increment ratio (PIR). Compared to conventional methods, the daily PIR reached 12.0% in the winter and 11.12% in the summer. An energy, exergy, and enviro-economic analysis was made on the prioritized Pad matrix (i.e., cellulose). The highest yielded average energy and exergy efficiency of cellulose pad is upgraded to 1.87 and 5.61%, respectively, compared to the conventional method. Accordingly, the enviro-economic analysis cost of CO2 mitigation on an energy basis is $ 0.00019 /h, while for exergy it equals $ 0.00017 /h.