Power electronic converters for PV systems in extreme environmental conditions

This paper analyzes a way to reduce the problem associated with the operating temperature of PV converters in extreme environmental conditions. A new liquid cooling system for PV converters is proposed. Several experiments with a PV converter prototype submersed in the coolant are performed. The results reveal that the presence of coolant determines, at the end of test, a converter's temperature variation of 1/3 with respect to the condition without liquid cooling system. The experimental results also show that lower operating temperatures increase the converter's efficiency.