Experimental and numerical study of enhancing the electrical performance of photovoltaic panel using phase change material in transient conditions

ABSTRACT

This study investigates employing a phase change material (PCM) to enhance the electrical power production and efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels. The PCM was placed at the backside of the collector, and the actual PV cell temperature values were recorded and evaluated by comparison in both cases with and without PCM. During the daytime and according to experimental findings, the existence of PCM decreased the cell temperature by an additional 9.5°C compared to a standard PV panel. The maximum generated power values using the hybrid PV/PCM system were 38.76 W on August 5^th and 47 W on October 23^rd, respectively. Conversely, the conventional PV generated only 35.2 W and 37 W on the same days. The results also revealed that the best electrical efficiencies were reached using the PV/PCM system at values of 12.1% and 15%, compared to 9.2% and 11.9% for conventional PV on the same days. A 1.38% greater energy production efficiency was reached using the hybrid PV/PCM system. Finally, using a numerical approach, the differential equations governing the energy exchange between the different layers were solved for both systems, and an excellent agreement for both the numerical results and the experimental data was confirmed.

KEYWORDS:

• Hybrid photovoltaic thermal
• photovoltaic panel
• performance assessment
• transient conditions
• phase change material

Nomenclature

General	=
AA	=	Area (m2)
C	=	Specific heat $J.k{g}^{-1}.K^{-1}$
G	=	Global irradiation $\left(W.m^{-2}\right)$
Tam	=	Ambient temperature (k)
L	=	Tube length (m)
k	=	Thermal diffusivity $\left(m^2.s^{-1}\right)$
Nu	=	Nusselt number
hr	=	Irradiative transfer coefficient
hcv	=	Convective transfer coefficient
hcd	=	Conductive transfer coefficient
lf	=	Liquid fraction
Lh	=	Latent heat $\left(kJ.k{g}^{-1}\right)$
Lattin letters	=
ρ	=	Density $\left(kg.m^{-3}\right)$
α	=	Absorbance
δ	=	Thickness $\left(m\right)$
λ	=	Thermal conductivity $\left(W.m^{-1}{K}^{-1}\right)$
σ	=	Boltzmann constant $\left(W.m^{-2}{K}^{-4}\right)$
ε	=	Emissivity
η	=	Efficiency
Subscripts	=
g	=	Glass
a	=	Air
pv	=	Photovoltaic
bc	=	Back cover
r	=	Radiation
cv	=	Convection
cd	=	Conduction
in	=	Inner
out	=	Outer
s	=	Solid
l	=	Liquid
pcm	=	PCM
Abbreviations	=
PCM	=	phase change material
PV	=	Photovoltaic
PV/T	=	Photovoltaic thermal
DHW	=	Domestic hot water
MT	=	Melting temperature

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mohamed Bouzelmad

Mohamed Bouzelmad is a research scholar in the Laboratory of Physics, Energy and Information Processing, Polydisciplinary Faculty of Ouarzazate, University Ibn Zohr, Agadir-Morocco. His research areas are Solar Energy, Heat transfer, Engineering, and Energy.

Youssef Belkassmi

Youssef Belkassmi: is a professor in Polydisciplinary Faculty of Ouarzazate, University Ibn Zohr, Agadir-Morocco. His research areas are Solar Energy, Heat transfer, Thermodynamic, Engineering, and Energy.

A. S. Abdelrazik

A. S. Abdelrazik: is a research academic at the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Renewable Energy and Power Systems (IRC-REPS), King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, 31261, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. His research areas are Renewable Energy, Nano-enhanced Fluids and PCMs, and Hybrid Solar-powered Systems.

Abdelhadi Kotri

Abdelhadi Kotri: is a professor in Polydisciplinary Faculty of Ouarzazate, University Ibn Zohr, Agadir-Morocco. His research areas are Physics and Astronomy, Materials Science, Engineering, and Energy.