Experimental Study of PV Panel Performance Using Backside Water Cooling Chamber

Abstract

Due to high solar irradiation and the high ambient temperature in Iraq, the solar cell temperature rises, and the electrical power output drops accordingly. In this study, an experimental photovoltaic (PV) panel prototype was developed to study the PV module's performance and power production efficiency. The developed photovoltaic module uses a water-cooling chamber for cooling. This experimental study uses a water-cooling system chamber technique at the rear side of the PV panel. The cooling system solar panel is a closed cycle, and the cooling water contacts the panel directly through the rear side of the PV panel using different flow rates. The results showed that the electrical efficiency increased by 10.42%, 11.87%, 13.77%, 18.1%, and 19.72% when mass flow rates of 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, and 3.5 l/min, respectively, were used. The thermal efficiency at 1.5 and 3.5 l/min is 49.7% and 79.2%, respectively.