Enhancing PV Cell’s electrical efficiency using phase change material with copper foam matrix and multi-walled carbon nanotubes as passive cooling method

Abdulmunem R. Abdulmunem, Pakharuddin Mohd Samin, Hasimah Abdul Rahman, Hashim A. Hussien and Izhari Izmi Mazali

Renewable Energy, 2020, vol. 160, issue C, 663-675

Abstract: The performance of a photovoltaic panel in generating electricity is adversely affected by the increase in the photovoltaic cell’s temperature. This paper proposed a passive cooling method using copper foam matrix in the photovoltaic panel’s phase change material with multi-walled carbon nanotubes additives. An experiment was conducted to compare the performance of the photovoltaic panel using phase change material/copper foam matrix with 0.20% multi-walled carbon nanotubes against the photovoltaic panels with (1) no phase change material, (2) phase change material only, and (3) phase change material/copper foam matrix without multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The results show that against the panel with no phase change material method (1), the cell’s temperature in the panel with phase change material/copper foam matrix and 0.20% multi-walled carbon nanotubes is reduced by 13.29% and its efficiency in generating electricity is increasing by 5.68%. Meanwhile method (2), the cell’s temperature is reduced by 4.50% while the improvement of the efficiency is at 1.97%. Finally method (3), reduced cell temperature and increased in terms of efficiency by 10.43% and 4.5% respectively. As a conclusion, copper foam matrix with multi-walled carbon nanotubes has a potential to be used as a passive cooling method to regulate photovoltaic cell’s temperature effectively.

Keywords: Photovoltaic panel; Passive cooling; Phase change material; Copper foam matrix; Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:160:y:2020:i:c:p:663-675

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2020.07.037

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