Experimental Evaluation of a Solar Low-Concentration Photovoltaic/Thermal System Combined with a Phase-Change Material Cooling Technique

The high operating temperatures of photovoltaic (PV) panels negatively affect both electrical efficiency and material degradation rate. Combining a water-cooling-based photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system phase-change (PCM) with/without low concentration (LC) represents promising solution for boosting the overall energy conversion PV system. This approach needs to be evaluated in harsh weather where PCM should have melting temperature. Therefore, this study experimentally investigates performance three cooling systems, namely PV-PCM, PV/T-PCM, LCPV/T-PCM, compared reference without cooling, under conditions Riyadh. results show that PV/T-PCM attained highest daily average efficiencies 14.24% (5% increase) 42.7%, respectively, 13.56% panel. PV-PCM was 13.64% due inefficient natural afternoon. LCPV/T-PCM recorded best during two hours around noon, with an increase power 11.06% maximum 70%. Finally, can only effectively used support higher demand electricity thermal noon; otherwise, new design configuration is needed establish most sunlight.