Scientists design concentrating PV system equipped with cooling, waste heat recovery tech
Researchers from Iran’s Babol Noshirvani University of Technology have investigated the enhancement of PV panel electrical efficiency by simulating a concentrating PV (CPV) system that integrates parabolic reflectors, a paraffin-based nanomaterials cooling system aimed at reducing solar module temperature, and a thermoelectric generator (TEG) that turns the excess thermal energy into electrical energy.
“To simulate the heat flux introduced by the reflectors, SolTrace software was employed, while the unsteady, three-dimensional thermal behavior of the system was analyzed using Ansys Fluent,” the researchers explained. “The innovation of the current article lies in the combined use of SolTrace for precise reflector modeling, heat flux variation analysis across PV layers, and the layered structure’s response to dust accumulation.”
A few cases were tested in the simulation program; the first, for reference, included only the CPV panel. In the second case, a cooling system has been implemented under the panel using a container filled with paraffin (RT35HC) enhanced with single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) nanoparticles. In the third case, the container also included an array of fins to promote conductive heat dissipation across the PV panel surface.
All of those three cases were then tested under clean conditions as well as under dust deposition. Later on, all versions of the system were also equipped with a TEG. TEGs can convert heat into electricity through the “Seebeck effect,” which occurs when a temperature difference between two semiconductors produces a voltage difference between two substances.
“Simulated results demonstrated that, with the cooling system in place, the PV efficiency improves by approximately 16.46% in clean conditions. However, dust accumulation on the panel significantly impacts performance, reducing efficiency by around 46.48% after 60 min,” the academics stressed.
“The inclusion of fin structures further optimizes the system, boosting overall efficiency by approximately 6.77% in clean conditions and 3.78% under dust-affected conditions,” they added. “Thermal efficiency for the clean state increased by about 8.47% due to the fins.”
Concluding its work, the team said that “the combined effects of parabolic reflectors, fin-enhanced cooling, and TEG integration yield an electrical output power approximately 2.94 times greater than that of a PV panel without any reflector or cooling modifications.”
Their findings were presented in “Development of a new solar system integrating photovoltaic and thermoelectric modules with paraffin-based nanomaterials,” published in Scientific Reports.
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