Influence of key parameters on evaporative cooling performance of photovoltaic ventilated cavities

Abstract This study addresses the bottlenecks faced by photovoltaic (PV) modules when applied to building envelopes, including the increase in operating temperature due to heat generation, the decrease in power generation efficiency, and the potential impact on the building’s thermal load. A solution is proposed: the photovoltaic evaporative cooling ventilated cavities (PVECVC). This solution involves installing PV on the building envelope surface, maintaining a certain distance from the building wall to form a ventilation cavity, and placing an evaporative cooling device on the PV backsheet. By constructing an outdoor test platform for comparative experiments to explore the impact of key parameters on system performance, the performance of the evaporative cooling (EC) in PVECVC was investigated. This study demonstrates that EC is an effective thermal management method for PVECVC, capable of reducing the operating temperature of PV backsheet ( T PV ), cavity backsheet ( T ca ), and cavity air ( T a ) under various environmental conditions, thereby improving system stability and efficiency. These conclusions provide a solid foundation for future research and practical applications.