Investigation of performance of surface water cooled photovoltaic panel (PV)

In this study, the performance of a surface water cooled photovoltaic (PV) solar panel was investigated. For this purpose, a solar panel with 1,2 m2 surface area and 275 W of power, 72 monocrystalline cells and a metal water pipe with a diameter of 1,2 cm and 12 water outlets were used. The panel is placed on a steel base 1,5 m high from the ground and at a 30 angle of inclination. The water fountain was placed on the top of the panel to scan the entire surface. During the operation of the panel, it was tried to determine both the electric power and the thermal power with out being cooled by water from different days and flow. As a result, significant increases were observed in the electric power production with the panel surface cooling system. In addition, significant amounts of thermal energy can be produced.