Performance Enhancement of PV Panels by Back Cooling

The photovoltaic panel is a device of photochemical energy conversion. It produces electricity from the sun light by PV phenomena. There are many factors that negatively impact solar panel performance, with panel temperature being one of the most important. The cell temperature of the PV panel effects on its degradation rate and life time. So, it’s very important to install a cooling system combined with PV system to enhance its efficiency. In this paper, the effect of back cooling for a PV panel was studied experimentally. The cooling system was carried out using water pipes installed under the PV panel. An experimental setup was installed to study the effect of water cooling from the back on the PV output. The panel temperature and open circuit voltage were measured. It was found that the open circuit voltage of PV panel enhanced from 33.92 to 34.66V when the panel temperature decreased by 5oC.