Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Solar Photovoltaic Panel Using Back Side Water Cooling Chamber

One of the biggest problems in the world that we live in nowadays is the environmental pollution caused by an overconsumption of energy. When fossil fuels are burned to generate energy, it emits CO₂, which is a leading cause of air pollution. Solar energy has the potential to replace fossil fuels as an alternative source of renewable energy. A photovoltaic solar system is one type of solar system that can convert the sun's light into electrical energy. One of the issues with PV panel is the high temperature of PV cells, especially in summer season when the ambient temperature can rise up to 50℃. As the temperature of solar modules increases, both the output power and the efficiency of PV panel decrease. To improve overall performance while extending the solar module's lifespan, this study proposes lowering photovoltaic cell temperature by using water cooling chamber installed at the back side of the PV panel. The proposed solar panel was developed and designed through both experimental study and ANSYS Fluent simulation. The photovoltaic module that was designed has a water-cooling chamber for the purpose of providing cooling under the condition of Erbil city. The rear side of the photovoltaic panel is cooled using water cooling chamber. The water-cooling chamber can absorb heat dissipation from the photovoltaic panel. The proposed cooling system for the solar panel is a closed cycle, and the cooling water is in contact with the back of the PV panel at different flow rates.  According to experimental setup, the maximum water flow rate of 3.5 l/min gives the optimal heat transfer rate. Finally, results demonstrated an improvement in electrical efficiency by the following percentages: 10.42%, 11.87%, 13.77%, 18.09%, and 19.72% when the water volume flow rates of 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, and 3.5 l/min, respectively, were applied. Meanwhile, the thermal efficiency of the PV system is 49.7% with a water flow rate of 1.5 l/min. and, the thermal efficiency recorded 79.2% when the system operated at a flow rate of 3.5 l/min.