Thermal Regulation and Performance Improvement of Solar PV Panel Using PCM OM29

Abstract

This study explores the performance of PV-PCM and PV-PCM-Water systems, which were constructed and subjected to comparative experimental analysis during the month of February. The PV-PCM systems incorporate PCM OM29 positioned behind the PV panel within an aluminum container, storing excess heat as latent heat and transitioning from a solid to a liquid state at a constant temperature. Furthermore, the PV-PCM-W system includes a heat exchanger arrangement within the same container, facilitating the circulation of water to harness the heat stored by the PCM for potential domestic heating applications. With PV-PCM and PV-PCM-W, the temperature of the PV decreased by 11°C at its peak and 6°C on average, and the voltage output was increased by 10 % approximately for both peak and average conditions. The gain in power output was about 10.5% and 8.5% for both conditions. Percentage gain in efficiency was found about 5.5 and 8.5, respectively. Also PV-PCM-Water systems showed around 8 °C increase in temperature for, which would be equivalent to total of 3348.4 kJ or 930 Wh/day. The experimental results obtained shows that a PCM based system is an effective way of regulating PV panel temperature and performance enhancement.