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Photovoltaicpanels are used to generate electric power. The surface temperature of the photovoltaic (PV) panels will affect theirefficiency,where the increment of temperature will decreasetheir efficiency and total power gain. In this study, we will discuss the performance of an 80 W floating photovoltaic (PV) panel in a pond simulator, whereby in a two hour experiment it shows up to 15.5% increment of energy gain compared to a normal photovoltaic (PV) panel. The floating photovoltaic (FPV) panel was designed by replacing the photovoltaic panel frame with a material that has the ability to float on a water surface and is capable of transferring heat at the back of the photovoltaic surface. A heat sink is used to transfer heat at the bottom of the photovoltaic panel, which will decrease the surface temperature when placed on the water surface. The best performance of the photovoltaic panel is 1000 W/m 2 fora surface temperature of 25°C; however,the efficiency will drop by 0.485% per1°C temperature increment.The system can be used on lakes, ponds or dams.

Abstract. In this paper, several attempt were made to investigate the best electrical performance of a floating photovoltaic (FPV). In photovoltaic (PV) system, the electrical efficiency of the system decreases rapidly as the PV module temperature increases. Therefore, in order to achieve higher electrical efficiency, the PV module have to be cooled by removing the heat in some way. This paper presents study on a conventional photovoltaic (PV) module and floating photovoltaic (FPV) system. The objective of the study is to compare the performance of conventional PV module and FPV. At FPV, an absorber comprises of aluminum flat-box housing was attached to the back of the PV module to absorb heat. Water is used to cool the PV module by passing it under the bottom surface of the module. The system was tested under simulated solar intensity of 417 W/m 2 , 667 W/m 2 and 834 W/m 2 . Current (I) -voltage (V) curves and power (P) -voltage (V) curves of the results were analyzed. The study found that the FPV has higher efficiency and total power gain than the conventional PV module. The average PV temperature in a FPV might be lower than that for a conventional PV module, thereby increasing its electrical power output. The simplicity of the system structure and aluminum as the chosen material enabled it to reduce the installation costs for a larger scale. Applicable as heat sink, this FPV system is convenient to place on lakes, ponds or rivers.

The solar thermal absorber is an integral component of a solar air collector, especially in determining the overall performance of a solar air thermal system. The type and shape of material will have a direct impact on the operating temperature and thermal energy storage effect of the solar air thermal collector. This paper focused on the investigation of aluminum and stainless steel hollow square rods in terms of their solar thermal absorber performance. Comparisons between different materials and coatings were conducted in order to determine their impact in solar thermal absorber applications. Experiments were conducted on both materials with flat-black coated and non-coated surfaces of aluminum (6063) and stainless steel sets respectively. Both sets were exposed under 585 W/m 2 radiation and the temperature response was recorded. A significant improvement was shown to result from the application of flat-black coating against non-coated material, with maximum temperatures of 67.2 o C and 48.3 o C respectively. It was observed that for the hollow square metal absorber the heating and cooling characteristics can be established by means of the relation between the surface and inner air temperatures of the absorber. This method can assist in temperature profiling of hollow square metal for solar thermal application.

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