Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
One of the main challenges in photovoltaic panel operation is the significant increase in operating temperature, which leads to a notable decrease in conversion efficiency. Addressing this issue, the present study focuses on the investigation of air-cooling solutions for photovoltaic (PV) panels integrated into an operational system. The proposed cooling solutions for the photovoltaic panels include four different types of heat sinks with fins. The experimental setup was placed on a roof terrace, exposing the panels to real-world weather and functional conditions. Each cooling solution, designed with variable characteristics, aimed to efficiently dissipate heat generated by the PV panels, particularly during warmer seasons. Each cooling solution tested in this research improves the efficiency of photovoltaic panels and ensures uniform temperature distribution across the panel surface. The advantage of the air-cooling solutions (heat sinks with fins) is their ability to provide passive cooling of the photovoltaic panels without additional energy or mass consumption. These passive cooling solutions are advantageous as they lower PV temperatures without requiring additional energy input, thus aligning with sustainable design principles by enhancing energy output while minimizing the system’s carbon footprint. The originality of the work consists in outdoor testing of the patented idea of perforating the heat sink to improve air circulation. The results demonstrated notable efficiency improvements across all models, ranging from 5.28% to 5.92%, with slight advantages induced by perforated fin heat sinks (5.82% to 5.92%) compared to non-perforated ones (5.28% to 5.69%). Additionally, perforated designs achieved approximately 5% material savings, offering superior efficiency gains at a reduced cost. The research involved both theoretical analysis and experimental approach.
Hudișteanu et al. (Tue,) studied this question.