Back surface cooling of photovoltaic panel - an experimental investigation

Solar energy is one of the most important renewable energy sources. However, only a small portion of incident solar radiation is converted into electricity. The rest amount of energy is dissipated as heat and this generated heat decreases the electrical performance of the photovoltaic (PV) panel. Hence, a proper cooling strategy needs to be adopted in order to enhance the performance. This paper discusses the feasibility of back surface cooling of PV panel using distilled water as coolant. The working fluid is made to flow through the aluminium pipes mounted on the backside of the panel for extracting the accumulated heat of the panel. Results show significant improvement in performance and identifies distilled water as a suitable alternative for back surface cooling of PV panel.