Performance evaluation of a PV panel by rear surface water active cooling

The performance of a photovoltaic (PV) module is strongly dependent on its operating temperature. Mostof the energy absorbed by aPV panel is converted to heat which is usually lost. By extracting the heat from the PV panel, one can improve its electrical efficiency, and extracted thermal energy can be used in other applications. In this paper, the effects of cooling the PV panel by adding a forced water heat exchanger are analyzed by numerical simulation and also investigated experimentally. The results of the numerical model are found in good agreement with the experimental measurements performed for the climate of Bucharest, Romania. With active water cooling, the module temperature dropped significantly with about 32% (from 50°C to 34°C) leading to an increase in the PV panel efficiency by 57% (from 7W to 11W).