Analysis of the Copper and Aluminum Heat Sinks Addition to the Performance of Photovoltaic Panels with CFD Modelling

Increasing the temperature of the photovoltaic (PV) panels in operation due to excessive exhaust heat from solar radiation leads to decrease efficiency and reduce service life. This research uses a numerical model to study heat transfer in PV panels by adding a heat sink as a cooling device. The heat sink is a device consisting of a base and fins. In this study, it is made into four variations of base and fins, namely: 1) Al-Al; 2) Cu-Al; 3) Al-Cu; 4) Cu-Cu mounted on the bottom of the PV panel. The efficiency of a PV panel is determined by comparing the simulation results of a PV panel with four variations of the heat sink, using ANSYS-Fluent software. The simulation results are presented in the form of temperature distribution contours from the model and velocity profile of the fluid passing through the heat sink. From the research that has been conducted, a significant decrease in temperature occurs in the combination of Al-Cu with a reduced value of up to 22°C so it can overcome excess heat and increase the efficiency of the PV.