Numerical Investigation on Heat Pipe Spanwise Spacing to Determine Optimum Configuration for Passive Cooling of Photovoltaic Panels

Samiya Aamir Al-Mabsali, Hassam Nasarullah Chaudhry and Mehreen Saleem Gul
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Samiya Aamir Al-Mabsali: School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, P.O. Box 294 345, Dubai, UAE
Hassam Nasarullah Chaudhry: School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, P.O. Box 294 345, Dubai, UAE
Mehreen Saleem Gul: School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 24, 1-14

Abstract: The uncertainty regarding the capacity of photovoltaics to generate adequate renewable power remains problematic due to very high temperatures in countries experiencing extreme climates. This study analyses the potential of heat pipes as a passive cooling mechanism for solar photovoltaic panels in the Ecohouse of the Higher Colleges of Technology, Oman, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A baseline model has been set-up comprised of 20 units, 20 mm diameter water-filled heat pipes, with a length of 992 mm attached to a photovoltaic panel measuring 1956 mm × 992 mm. Using the source temperature of 64.5 °C (337.65 K), the findings of this work have established that a temperature reduction in the range of up to 9 °C is achievable when integrating heat pipes into photovoltaic panels. An optimum spacing of 50 mm (2.5 times the diameter of the heat pipe) was determined through this work, which is also a proof-of-concept towards the use of heat pipe technology for passive cooling of photovoltaic panels in hot climates.

Keywords: CFD; heat pipe; temperature; photovoltaic; spanwise (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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