Numerical Study of the Effect of Hole Adding in Heatsinks on Photovoltaic Cooling

The efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels tends to decline as their surface temperature increases, despite solar energy being an abundant and renewable resource. To address this thermal issue, implementing a reliable cooling mechanism is essential. This study numerically investigates the impact of heatsink perforation on the thermal regulation of PV modules using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based on the SIMPLE algorithm. Two heatsink configurations are compared: a solid heatsink and a perforated version with 15 mm hole spacing, both subjected to an inlet air velocity of 1.5 m/s. The simulation aims to evaluate the influence of geometric variation on temperature profiles, pressure distribution, and airflow characteristics surrounding the PV system. Results show that the solid heatsink suffers from limited airflow and higher heat retention, leading to lower cooling efficiency. Conversely, the perforated heatsink enhances natural convection, resulting in a more uniform airflow and a temperature reduction of up to 20.86°C on the PV surface. This indicates that introducing holes into the heatsink design significantly improves heat dissipation and overall thermal performance of PV modules.