Experimental investigation of the effect of cell temperature on panel efficiency in photovoltaic systems

Electricity generation through PV technologies that use solar energy which is one of the most important renewable energy sources, continues increasingly around the world, especially in the last decade. The performance of PV applications is closely related to the energy conversion rate of modules, which is fundamentally one of the most important system components. Although the efficiency of PV cell technologies increases day by day, this increase is still beyond the expectations. This situation causes PV systems to have performances remained below the expected level. Power output of photovoltaic systems depends on many factors such as panel area, panel configuration, tilt angles of the panels according to the horizontal surface, radiation intensity on the panel surface, panel characteristics, cell/ambient temperature and wind speed. One of the most important factors affecting the photovoltaic systems is temperature. A significant part of the radiation coming from the sun is absorbed by the photovoltaic cells and the temperature of the cells increases. In this study, an experimental setup was designed and implemented to measure and compare the electrical energy produced by a PV module cooled by the active cooling method using water and a PV module operating under normal conditions, and to measure the thermal gain of the cooled module. Experimental studies were carried out for 3 days with 0.245 l/min, 0.402 l/min and 0.584 l/min flow rates. It has been determined that the electrical energy produced by the cooled module is higher between 6.03% and 6.16% than the normal module for different flow rates. The net energy gains including the thermal energy for 3 different flow rates were calculated as 1285%, 1665% and 3662%, respectively, compared to the normal module. Calculations made with the data obtained during the experimental study are presented by interpreting them as graphics.