Spanish scientists built a cooling system with solar panel heat exchangers and a U-shaped heat exchanger installed in a 15-meter-deep well. The researchers claim that this reduces panel temperatures by up to 17 percent while improving performance by about 11 percent.
Researchers at the University of Alcalá in Spain have developed a solar module cooling technology that uses an underground closed-loop single-phase heat exchanger as a natural heat sink.
Researcher Ignacio Valiente Blanco told pv magazine: “Our analysis of different types of residential and commercial properties shows that the system is economically viable with a payback period of 5 to 10 years.”
The cooling method involves the use of a heat exchanger on the back of the solar panel to remove excess heat. This heat is transferred to the ground with the help of a cooling liquid which is cooled by another U-shaped heat exchanger, which is introduced into a 15 meter deep well filled with natural water from an underground aquifer.
“The cooling system requires additional energy to activate the coolant pump,” the researchers explained. “Since it is a closed circuit, the potential difference between the bottom of the well and the solar panel does not affect the power consumption of the cooling system.”
The scientists tested the cooling system on a stand-alone photovoltaic installation, which they described as a typical solar farm with a single-axis tracking system. The array consists of two 270W modules supplied by Atersa, Spain. Their temperature coefficient is -0.43% per degree Celsius.
The heat exchanger for the solar panel mainly consists of six plastically deformed flat U-shaped copper tubes with a diameter of 15mm each. The tubes are insulated with polyethylene foam and connected to a common inlet and outlet manifold with a diameter of 18 mm. The research team used a constant coolant flow of 3L/min, or 1.8L/min per square meter of solar panels.
Experiments have shown that the cooling technology can reduce the operating temperature of solar modules by 13-17 degrees Celsius. It also improves component performance by about 11%, which means a cooled panel will deliver 152 Wh of power throughout the day. According to research, an uncooled counterpart.
The scientists describe the cooling system in the paper “Improving the Efficiency of Solar PV Modules by Cooling an Underground Heat Exchanger,” recently published in the Journal of Solar Energy Engineering.
“With the necessary investment, the system is ideal for conventional installations,” says Valiente Blanco.
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