Temperature Reduction to Enhancing Solar Panel Performance in Tropical Climate

Abstract

The characteristics of climate in a region also influences the performance of solar panels, the characteristics are the intensity of solar irradiance, temperature, wind speed and humidity. An evaluation of the performance of solar panels needs to be done regarding the tropical climate in Indonesia. This evaluation is needed to determine how large the resulting energy production that will be used for the benefit of both technical and investment for Solar Power Plant. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of wood powder composite board material in reducing the surface temperature of solar panels in order to increase the efficiency of energy conversion. The type of solar panel used is 50 Wp Polycrystalline. The results showed that the average of solar radiation is at 690 W/m 2 resulting in an average current value of 1.8 A (with board dampers) and 1.68 A (without the board damper). While the average temperature of a solar panel without a damper is 36.4 ° C while the damping board drops to 34.6°C. Consequently increasing the output voltage level from 20,38 V to 20,55 V, This change also results in an increase in output Solar panel power on average from 47,8 Wp (without damper board) to 48,2 Wp (with damper board), with a reduction in power losses from 2,3 Wp to 1,8 Wp.