Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1342–1351

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Review of cooling techniques using phase change materials for enhancing MARK
efficiency of photovoltaic power systems
⁎
S.S. Chandela, , Tanya Agarwalb
a
Centre for Energy and Environmental Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur 177005, Himachal Pradesh, India
b
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur 177005, Himachal Pradesh, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: A significant fraction of the solar radiation falling on photovoltaic (PV) panels gets converted into heat thus
Photovoltaic cooling reducing the efficiency of photovoltaic power plants. Generally the performance of PV panels falls by 0.5% for
Phase change materials every degree rise in temperature, depending on the type of solar cells used. The temperature regulation of PV
PCM power systems therefore becomes important especially for areas experiencing consistently high temperatures to
PV power plants
improve PV efficiency. The objective of the study is to review literature on photovoltaic cooling techniques using
phase change materials (PCM) including PV-thermal systems and building integrated photovoltaic systems. The
main aim is to identify important research areas to ensure reliable performance and commercially viability of
the technology. Various parameters are required to be evaluated and optimized for the geographical location of
interest to obtain the best output. Increase in electrical efficiency as high as 5% is observed with PV-PCM
integrated systems. Study suggests that inorganic PCMs have a good potential for PV cooling. PCM based PV
systems will be cost effective only for areas with high insolation year round with less inter-seasonal climatic
variations. However, poor thermal conductivity and large undercooling are major problems associated with
PCM. There are only few studies on performance testing, economic benefit identification, increase in PV panel
lifetime and LCA analysis for testing the suitability of PCM as coolant for PV panels. In this study the research
gaps are identified for follow up work. Market review suggests that PCM based PV cooling technology is not yet
commercialized due to its inefficiency primarily because of technological challenges, high system costs and non-
availability of reliable operating designs. The study suggests that PCM is still not an economic cooling technique
for PV systems and further research is required.

1. Introduction most significant being the insolation received, wind speed over the
surface of the PV panel, direction of the flow of the wind and ambient
Current energy demands are met mostly by fossil fuels and non- temperature. The temperature of the front and the back surfaces of the
renewable sources which are depleting at a fast rate besides being PV panel vary with the degree of orientation due to convection,
greenhouse gas emitters Therefore solutions based on renewable conduction and radiation effects.
energy sources are being used to meet the current energy challenges. As the solar radiation falling on the PV panel, wind speed and
Solar energy is one of such clean and inexhaustible renewable energy ambient temperatures, are not under human control, research is
resources with no carbon dioxide emissions and zero waste generation. focused to develop new materials and ways to reduce the solar cell
Research efforts are being made over the years to effectively utilize the temperature without adding much to the system cost. One technique is
vast solar resource using photovoltaic (PV) panels but the efficiency is cooling by sprinkling water at the front or circulating at back of the PV
still low as a major part of solar energy is converted into heat energy. panels. This method however consumes a lot of pump power. Another
This not only reduces the electricity generation efficiency but also technique is the use of ventilated PV panels which is a current research
affects the lifetime of PV panels. It is found that PV performance falls focus. But this technique suffers from poor heat transfer rates and
with the increase in module temperature. The efficiency of crystalline insufficient cooling. Further it become ineffective if the temperature
silicon solar cells fall by 0.5% for every 1 °C rise in solar cell rises too high. Also the heat removed cannot be very effectively stored
temperature and this decrease in efficiency varies with the type of cell or reused which could otherwise have helped in reducing the system
[1]. The temperature of solar cell is a function of various parameters, cost as well as raising the overall efficiency of the system. Water and air

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (S.S. Chandel).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.02.001
Received 23 April 2016; Received in revised form 3 October 2016; Accepted 1 February 2017
1364-0321/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
S.S. Chandel, T. Agarwal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1342–1351

based cooling provide immediate use of the heat stored so the flexibility 2.5. Other cooling techniques
of extending the time of stored energy use is limited.
Phase change materials (PCM) offer an attractive solution since Several studies are found in literature to cool PV using nano-fluid
they have several times more heat capacity than water and air based containing suspended metal particles. Sardarbaddi et al. [7] tested
systems. Further the heat stored can be used during night without silica/water nano-fluid for PV cooling and found that increase in
significant heat losses. The heat stored can then be used for air thermal efficiency up to 12.8% is possible. Yun et al. [8] studied the
conditioning or water heating which raises the overall efficiency of influence of MgO/water nano-fluid thickness on cooling performance
the system and reduces its effective cost. for different concentration of MgO in water. Studies on magnetic nano-
This work focuses on review of PV cooling literature using PCM to fluid and their performance under varying external magnetic fields are
identify suitable materials, research gaps and future research areas. also found in literature. Gadhiri et al. [9] found that 39% improvement
The paper is organized into four sections: Section 2 provides in cooling performance using ferro-fluid can be obtained compared to
overview of conventional cooling techniques followed by detailed distilled water, with overall efficiency of the system improving by 76%.
literature review on PCM cooling for PV in Section 3. The identified The presence of alternating magnetic field further enhances the
research gaps and follow up research areas are presented in Section 4 thermal performance. Y G lee [10] tested the floating type PV array
followed by conclusions in Section 5. system using pultruded fiber (a fiber drawn through a hot die and
coated with resins) reinforced polymeric plastic and found that system
2. Overview of conventional PV panel cooling techniques could be cost effective.

2.1. Air cooling 2.6. Cooling using PCM

2.1.1. Natural ventilation The high latent heat capacity of PCM is utilized to maintain the PV
This technique uses ambient air flow to reduce PV panel tempera- panel at a fairly constant temperature. The heat stored can later be
ture by natural ventilation. Heat transfer can further be enhanced by used for space heating, water heating and other purposes. However, the
increasing the heat transfer area using fins and extended surface initial investment with these systems is quite high. A comparison of
designs. The drawbacks of this system are the fluctuations in PV cell various PV panel cooling techniques discussed above and their suit-
temperature and very high panel temperatures during peak insolation ability is summarized in Table 1.
[2]. Yun et al. [3] studied a ventilated PV façade and found that peak It is clear that the natural ventilation based cooling is the most
temperature of PV panel was 55.5 °C in comparison to 76.7 °C for the ineffective method while forced water and air cooling techniques are
panel without ventilation. being used around the world for PV panel cooling. PCM has an added
advantage of its ability to delay the temperature rise of panel without
2.1.2. Forced ventilation any electricity consumption. Further, the heat stored can be reused
This technique of heat removal is based on forced airflow at the which further enhances the system efficiency. Studies on liquid
front and back of the PV panels. It however consumes significant immersion cooling are lacking though it also appears promising. For
amount of fan power. Krauter et al. [4] found that active ventilation thermoelectric (TE) cooling, the focus is more on increasing the
with forced convection can increase electrical output by 8%. electrical energy output of the panel. Lower the panel temperature,
lower is the TE efficiency. It is also to be noted that the temperature
2.2. Water based cooling range mentioned for different techniques in Table 1 are broad ranges as
the results are a function of different parameters including insolation
2.2.1. Passive cooling received, ambient temperature, wind speed, the orientation of the
It is based on PV panel cooling using water without the use of panel etc. Above figures should only be used as an estimation of the
pumps. It is found effective for PV cooling provided good thermal maximum obtainable performance from these techniques as per
contact between the PV and the collector system is ensured. Further the literature. For comparing the real benefits of the different techniques,
excess heat stored in water should be continuously removed or utilized it is necessary to study a specific system under same conditions using
elsewhere. different techniques.

2.2.2. Active cooling 3. Literature review of cooling techniques using PCM

Cooling performance is improved as the water flow velocity is
increased. However, increase in volumetric flow per unit time means This section reviews updated literature and presents highlights of
increase in power consumption [2]. Krauter [5] found that water flow important studies. The aim is to identify the research gaps and follow
can increase the electricity generation efficiency of the panel by 8–9% up research areas which can improve the current status of progress of
along with reducing the reflection losses. the technology.
Electricity generation using photovoltaic are promising techniques
2.3. Liquid immersion cooling that can meet the current energy challenges but the problem of
overheating of the panels affect the energy conversion efficiency as
The technique involves removal of heat from the PV panels by well as the life of the module. Increased temperature raises the charge
immersing them in a dielectric liquid in an elongated tube. The liquid carrier concentration which raises the short circuit current due to
of such a refractive index is chosen so that it can concentrate the solar reduced band gap but the open circuit voltage drops. This occurs due to
radiation onto the PV cells. This technique can maintain panel increased recombination rates thereby reduces the overall power
temperature in range 30–45 °C [2]. output from the cell. Thermal regulation of the PV panels is therefore
important [11].
2.4. Thermoelectric cooling Different methodologies are found in literature on PV cooling where
most of the works are focused on passive cooling systems using air flow
Thermoelectric cooling is based on converting additional heat and water circulation. These systems however could not maintain the
generated by the panel into electricity based on Peltier effect. This cell temperature to an appropriate level. Active systems affect the
technique can increase the electricity generation efficiency of PV by 8– system economics remarkably, primarily due to the large pumping
23% [6]. costs involved in circulating air and water for effective PV cooling. The

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S.S. Chandel, T. Agarwal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1342–1351

Table 1
Comparative suitability of various PV cooling technique studies.

Sr. No. Cooling techniques Advantages Limitations Achieved PV panel temperature range &
Reference

1 Natural ventilation • Zero or negligible cost input • Low conductivity and heat transfer rate 50–70 °C [2]
• No electricity requirement • High PV panel temperature fluctuations
• No maintenance • Very high peak insolation temperatures
• Depends
temperature
on wind direction and ambient air

• Heat removed can’t be reused effectively

2 Forced Ventilation • High heat transfer compared to • High installation cost 20–30 °C [2]
natural ventilation • Consumes large amount of fan power
• Do not depend on ambient • System is noisy
conditions • Heat removed isn’t effective for later use. It
is best utilized instantly
3 Liquid immersion • Larger heat dissipation • Ionization of water is a problem 30–40 °C [2]
cooling • Better electrical performance • Liquid ingress due to leakage
• Less reflection losses • Salt deposition is an issue
• Corrosion
must
may occur so appropriate care is

• Containment design and its weight

• Dust deposition on ducts
4 Thermoelectric cooling • Low initial investment • Cooling performance is a function of Not given; here the aim is to enhance electrical
• Low maintenance cost ambient air conditions [6] efficiency and not the cooling of the PV panels
• No noise issues • Electricity consumption
• Very effective heat removal is required to
ensure reliable cooling
5 Active water cooling • Very effective in maintaining PV • Installation cost is high Upto 22 °C [5]
temperature • Regular maintenance cost
• Better heat transfer rates compared
to ventilation systems
• High pumping power requirement to
maintain panel temperature
• System is noisy
• Instant energy use/heat removed cannot be
effectively stored for use at later hours
• Corrosion needs to be taken care of.
6 PCM • No maintenance and electricity • Large initial investment • 25–30 °C [20]
costs • Cyclic stability of the material is a concern
• Can maintain PV panel at constant • Containment is a concern
temperature for long time • Poor thermal conductivity
• Delays panel temperature rise
• Heat
reused
stored can be effectively

• No noise issues

studies are simulation /modeling and laboratory based. Some studies

related to testing PCM performance and hybrid PV systems which
include building integrated photovoltaic and PV thermal (PV-T)
systems are carried out under field conditions in different countries.
The limitation being the short time duration for which the studies are
performed and the results are drawn based on the performance of PCM
observed during that time. However, PCM does not result in positive
performance every time which puts an important limitation on the
reliability of the results. Not many studies are directed efforts towards
Fig. 1. Integration of PCM layer on backside of PV module for cooling. designing systems where PCM waste heat could be re-used. The
highlights of some important studies under field, laboratory and
focus of this review is on exploring the potential of PCM for PV cooling. simulation modeling are summarized in the Table 3 with the aim to
Fig. 1 shows integration of PCM layer on the back side of the PV panel. identify the potential PCMs suitable for cooling.
Literature reveals that PCM based PV systems when integrated with It is clear from the Table 3, that low melting PCM (LMPCM)
air conditioning or water heating systems could decrease the overall couldn’t maintain PV panel temperatures during the entire thermal
system cost while making it more effective. An example of the working regulation period. Though the increase in efficiency at the peak
system utilizing PCM technology is a Japanese house which uses air to insolation hours for LMPCM is the highest, the overall increase in
cool PV panels. A grid connected 4.2 kWp system charges the PCM efficiency would be negative. However, a comparatively high melting
installed in the building roof and ceilings which reduce the building PCM could maintain the PV panel at a constant temperature for the
heating and cooling loads [12]. The highlights of the various reviews on entire duration. CP was found to be a promising PCM among organic
cooling of PV panels are summarized in Table 2. and CaCl2.6H20 among inorganic PCM's. It is also to be observed that
Ventilated air based cooling is found ineffective during peak hours. the increase in efficiency with PCM is highest for area with consistently
Water cooling has been found to outperform air based cooling. Other high solar radiation year round. Thickness and PCM thermal con-
cooling techniques are at the primary stage of research. Studies in ductivity are other parameters which are found to influence the panel
literature on identifying the suitable PCM's for PV cooling and their efficiency markedly.
impact on the thermal and electrical efficiency are limited. Most of the C.J Ho et al. [29] tested the cooling performance of the PV with

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S.S. Chandel, T. Agarwal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1342–1351

Table 2
Highlights of PV cooling using various techniques.

Reference Highlights

[1] • Reviewed conventional cooling techniques of PV primarily water and air based cooling of PV
• Most studies are performed for low PV ratings which create scale-up difficulties
• Studies on degradation of PV panels with temperature are limited
• PV cooling with micro channel, thermoelectric modules and automotive radiator are in developing stage and need further research
[2] • Discussed cooling of PV module using natural/ forced, hydraulic, heat pipe and PCM cooling.
• Large fluctuations in temperature of the PV cell are found in ventilated façade system
• Surface area should be increased as the concentration ratio increase to maintain the cell temperature
• Utilization of the waste heat from the PCM based system is not well studied
[13] • Presents review literature on PV-PCM systems;
• PV Performance is found to be affected by low heat transfer and large maintenance cost. Apart from this it involves large capital investment while its service life
is low
• Need to study benefits from implementation in real systems to access its market potential
• Systems are monitored on laboratory scale; does not provide information about its suitability under real environmental conditions
[14] • Reviewed cooling of the PV/T systems through single phase fluids
• Water based cooling is more effective than air based cooling
• Most of the cooling techniques are able to achieve efficiency > 10%
• Direct comparison of various techniques is difficult due to irregularity of the conditions in which the performance is tested
• Systems should be modeled based on non-dimensional number.
[15] • Reviewed the cooling techniques for PV panels including impingement jet, micro-channel cooling, PCM, heat sink and heat pipe cooling
• PCM suffers from toxicity, corrosiveness and inflammability. Their disposal after use is also a problem
• Micro-channel heat sinks can achieve uniform low temperatures for PV panels
• Hybrid micro-channel jet impingement technique achieves the minimum cell temperature.
• Cooled PV panels were found to have lower energy payback time and greenhouse gas payback time

microencapsulated PCM and found that PCM with 30 °C melting 4. Results and discussion: Identified Research gaps and
temperature performed better than the one melting at 28 °C. They follow-up research areas
concluded that PCM couldn’t completely solidify at night after a certain
thickness thereby affecting its cooling performance. Japs et al. [30] The review suggests that literature is more focused on potential of
found that the energy generated by the PCM-PV is higher than organic PCM's as a cooling agent. The studies are found on testing the
reference PV panel without PCM for 5 out of 25 days while with performance of integrated designs with PCM, PV-thermal and BIPV
PCM+ graphite-PV, it was lower for all the 25 test dates studied. They under laboratory and field conditions and modeling/simulation studies
found that the results of PCM used with PV are only positive in the validated through experimental testing. The studies on determining the
forenoon at peak temperature hours while the daily average energy and possible thermal benefits using PCM, resultant effects on its lifetime
economic yields were negative for the whole test duration. Further they and year round increase in power generation efficiency are however
[31] found that PCM equipped with graphite performed better than limited. Based on the study of literature the status of research,
that without it as graphite enhances the conductivity of the PCM which identified research gaps along with follow-up research areas are
causes rapid heat dissipation resulting in considerably improved presented and discussed in this section.
performance.
Smith et al. [32] did global analysis of the PV panels using PCM and 4.1. Criteria for selecting appropriate PCM
found that PCM is beneficial for high insolation areas with low inter
seasonal climatic variations. An improvement in energy output of over Most of the research highlights the impact of PCM on the PV
6% is seen on the Western coast of Mexico and improvements of over performance for specific periods when the conditions are suitable for
5% are seen in many regions. For none of the regions studied, financial PCM i.e. high insolation and average ambient temperature.
benefits were able to overcome the material costs assuming an average Performance under real conditions is also not well studied. The PV-
lifetime of 25 years of PV/PCM systems. The greatest improvements in PCM system essentially requires higher thermal conductivity and high
performance were found for Africa, South Asia, Australia and South heat capacity PCM. However, the criteria for selecting the PCM melting
and Central America as these areas receive high levels of irradiance and temperature (m.p.) are not well defined in literature. Lower melting
often experience high ambient temperatures year-round. PCMs (around 25 °C) are able to maintain temperature of PV panels in
The other works in literature on PV-PCM based thermal /building the desired range for very short intervals and become ineffective after
integrated / thermoelectric systems and important findings are sum- peak insolation hours. Increasing thickness of the lower melting PCM
marized in Table 4. These include PV/T systems, BIPV systems, office create problems of incomplete melting. On the other hand, high
buildings, study of various parameters affecting the PV-PCM perfor- melting PCM ( > 30 °C) cannot maintain PV at the desired temperature
mance and studies on modeling PV-PCM behavior. of 25 °C although it can be maintained below a particular temperature
Studies in Table 4 reflect that a considerable improvement in for the entire duration. This essentially means that high melting PCM
performance is observed when PCM is combined with the heat sinks. could maintain the panel at slightly higher but uniform temperature
The number of fins, spacing and length are found to influence the preventing creation of hot spots while low melting PCM could maintain
conduction and convection behavior in PCM thereby influencing the the panel at low temperature at which it gives maximum efficiency but
melting time and the temperature regulation performance. Increase in only for a limited duration. This suggests that using multiple PCM with
electrical efficiency as high as 15% has been observed with this hybrid different melting points could be a better solution. A balance must
system. Increase in PV performance decreases the thermal perfor- therefore be made between the PCM melting temperatures, thickness
mance of the system so a tradeoff must be made to get the maximum and the obtained efficiency.
system efficiency. Modeled systems are not able to predict the
solidification behavior properly and considerable discrepancies are 4.1.1. Follow up research
observed. PCM should be selected based on the peak PV temperature

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 Table 3
Identified PCMs for PV cooling and research highlights.

Ref. PCM studied Findings/Highlights Temperature reduction (w.r.t no PCM case) Study conditions

Studies in outdoor conditions/field testing

[16] • Petroleum Jelly Studied PV cooling using PCM under Indonesian climatic conditions.
• • Reduced by 2.7 °C (on roof case) Tested two 10 W panels on the rooftop in standalone and rooftop
Efficiency improves up to 21.6% for on roof systems and 6% for mode in Indonesia
S.S. Chandel, T. Agarwal

•
standalone systems due to heat removal by PCM.
• Reduced by 0.4 °C (on-standalone case)
PCM-PV is found more beneficial for building integrated designs where
•
heat transfer from the back surface of PV is restricted.
[17] • Copper sulphate Able to maintain the PV panel temperature at 40 °C for around 2 h. at
• • Reduced by 4 °C Not clearly defined
heptahydrate 1000 W/m2 insolation
A power increase up to 7.92% was observed.
•
[18] • Capric-Palmiticacid Electricity generated, heat stored and fall in temperature were far higher
• • Reduced by 21 °C with salt hydrate and 17 °C 65 W polycrystalline EVA encapsulated PV panels
eutectic for salt hydrate than CP. with CP for Pakistan Outdoor testing in Dublin and Vehari
• Calcium hexahydrate For climatic conditions of Pakistan, electrical efficiency of PV with CP
• • Reduced by 10 °C and 7 °C with salt hydrate and Dublin – 27Aug−13 Sept, 2013
was 13.9% while 14.5% with salt hydrates. Thermal efficiency was CP respectively for Ireland Vehari – 30 Oct- 13 Nov, 2013
17.2% and 20.3% respectively.
Financial benefits are almost twice of the cost incurred for climatic
•
conditions of Pakistan
Not suitable for climatic conditions of Ireland
•
The cost saving from the use of the PCM depends on the quantity of
•
PCM purchased, geographical location and the climatic conditions
[19] MP- 25 °CHeat of fusion Effect of PCM on vertical polycrystalline silicon solar cells was studied.
2
•
−184 kJ/kg
•
For PCM melting temperature of 25 °C and 70 mm thickness maximum
• Reduced
m
by 10 °C for 100 mm PCM for 800 W/ • 10.9 Wp polycrystalline cells
conditions of Song-do, Incheon, South Korea
•
increase in efficiency of 4.6%
• Climatic
Optimum thickness of the PCM is determined as function of orientation
• Tested from 17 May−17 June 2012
•
of PV panels (70 mm South and 50 mm East).
Highest output was measured when panels faced south, where the solar
•

1346
radiation is the highest; lowest output of 5299 W h/y was measured
when it faced east, where the solar radiation is the lowest.
PCM perform best in high insolation moderate air temperature areas
•
[20] • Capric Palmitic acid For climatic conditions of Dublin, PCM2 maintained lower temperature
• PCM2 reduced temperature by 10 °C compared to 65 W polycrystalline EVA insulated panels tested
(PCM1) than PCM1 though its melt temperature is higher (29.4 °C compared to 7 °C with PCM 1 against reference PV temperature Outdoor testing in Dublin and Vehari
• CaCl2.6H20 (PCM2) 22 °C) of 49 °C Dublin–27Aug−13 Sept, 2013
Daily averaged power saving of 1% for PCM1 and 1.8% for PCM2 for
• Vehari–30 Oct- 13 Nov, 2013
Dublin
For climatic conditions of Vehari, PCM1 dropped PV temperature to a
•
peak of 16 °C while 21 °C for PCM2 against PV reference temperature of
63 °C
Daily averaged power saving of 4.4% for PCM1 and 7.7% for PCM2 for
•
Vehari
[21] • RT35 PV-PCM system studied; PCM could maintain PV temperature at 42 °C
• Reduction by 10 °C for 6 h. Malaysian Climatic conditions
for 4 h. against a peak PV temperature of 53 °C

Simulation/modeling/laboratory testing studies

[22] • Coconut oil Palm oil was found to be a better PCM for ambient temperature range
• Reduced by 9.6 °C for 102 mm thick PCM 10 W mono-crystalline panels
• Palm oil 27 °C−30 °C Panels placed directly in contact with the roof of PAU building in
Power output and efficiency are found to be the highest for the PCM
• Indonesia
with the maximum thickness No details on the experimental conditions, no of days of testing
For 102 mm thick PCM, output power increased by 23% while electrical
•
efficiency increased by 2.1%
[23] • Calcium hexahydrate Calcium hexahydrate has high heat capacity, high thermal conductivity
• Not mentioned Lab testing using DSC and Temperature History Method
• RT20 and no volumetric expansion but undercooling up to 18 °C causes
• Capric Lauric Acid (CL) solidification problems at night.
• Capric-Palmitic acid (CP) Paraffin RT20 was found to have low density, high volume expansion,
•
high flammability (154 °C) and very low solidification temperatures.
Paraffins have high meting range and large volumetric expansion which
• (continued on next page)
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1342–1351
 Table 3 (continued)

Ref. PCM studied Findings/Highlights Temperature reduction (w.r.t no PCM case) Study conditions

makes them unsuitable for PV temperature regulation

• CL and CP suffer from wide melting range, low density and large volume
expansion but has suitable solidification temperature ideal for summer
nights in hot areas.
S.S. Chandel, T. Agarwal

• CP appears to be the most promising PCM for PV temperature

regulation among fatty acids.
2
[24] • RT20 • Low melting, low conductivity PCM in high conductivity containers • For 1000 W/m , the duration for which different • Polycrystalline silicon PV cell of dimension
• SP22, perform better in low Insolation condition for PV PCM maintained PV temperature below 10 °C is 10 cm×10 cm×0.05 cm packed between perspex sheets to
acid simulate a PV module
2 2
• Capric–Lauric • High melting PCM in lower conductivity containers for Intermediate • RT20 (2.6hrs)
Insolation (750 W/m ) and high melting, highly conductive PCM in & SP22 (3 h) Test conducted using solar simulator GR262 for 500 W/m ,
2
2 2 2
• CaCl high conductivity containers for high Insolation (1000 W/m ) is
• CL
CP (4.2 h)
• 750 W/m , 1000 W/m
• Capric-Palmitic Acid suitable for temperature regulation of PV.
• CaCl (5 h)
• 2
CaCl .6H 0 maintained temperature reduction for the longest duration
• (11 2 2
h) followed by CL (9.5 h).
could maintain 10 °C temperature reduction for 5 h at 1000 W/
2
2
• mCaClinsolation with Aluminum container
CP and CaCl that maintained a maximum of 18 °C temperature
2
2
• reduction at PV front surface for 30 min for 1000 W/m with Al
container
• Low conductivity PCM perform better in low insolation condition with
high conductivity containers
• Highest temperature reduction was observed with the highest
conductivity container for all the insolation conditions.
[25] Thermal conductivity of PCM infused graphite was 16.6 W/mK while
2
• RT40 • 0.25 W/m K without it
• Reduction by 19 °C in peak temperature for • 30 mm thickness for mono crystalline silicon PV panel area of
PCM + graphite + heat sink 0.052 m
• Incorporation of graphite extended the melting range of the PCM • Reduced by 5 °C for PCM +graphite • Insolation supplied using two Halogen lamp, 500 W each

1347
considerably • Shift in temperature rise with PCM + graphite
• Increasing thermal conductivity beyond 16.6 W/mK did not show any wr.t reference
marked improvement except for very high Insolation's or very large
PCM thicknesses ( > 100 mm)
• At extended insolation, heat sinks has dominating behavior over PCM,
• Cost of thermal regulation ($130/m2) was 10% of the solar panel
[26] • RT20 • For operational time of 480 min, only RT20 melt completely while RT25 • Temperature difference of 2 °C for 400 min with • Model verified using Huang et al. experimental data assuming
• RT25 and RT28HC melted by 80% and 65% respectively RT25 and RT28HC Polycrystalline cell of 10 cm × 10 cm × 0.05 cm
• RT28HC • Maximum of 5% enhancement in efficiency was seen • Ambient temperature is assumed 19 °C
[27] • RT10HC • Effect on transition temperature of PCM on the performance of PV was – ESP-r software used to study the system
• RT18HC studied
• RT25HC • Increase in efficiency was highest for RT18HC (0.25%) followed by
• RT35HC RT25HC (0.23%)
• Low transition PCM in the range of external temperature fluctuation
should be chosen
[28] • RT27-RT21 • Use of two PCMs for regulating the PV temperature in BIPV was studied for RT31-RT27 Simulation study
RT27-RT21 was found to give the highest temperature reduction but the
• 25< 30°C°Cforthroughout
RT27-RT21 for first 30 min after which
• RT31-RT27 • regulation period was the shortest.
• the temperature rise rapidly
• RT31-RT27 could maintain the temperature below 30 °C for the whole
test duration.
• Low transition PCM's dominates the behavior of the two PCM system.
• Position of the PCM, system mass and PCM thermal characteristics are
found to affect system behavior.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1342–1351
S.S. Chandel, T. Agarwal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 73 (2017) 1342–1351

Table 4
PCM use in PV based thermal /building integrated / thermoelectric systems.

Ref.No. Important findings Study conditions

a).Type of PCM based PV System tested outdoors/Field testing

[33] •Compared PV/T-PCM system with PV/T system. Tested under climatic conditions of Dublin, South
•PCM used: Capric-palmitic acid with melting point 22.4 °C Africa during Sept 9-! 4,2014
•PV/T-PCM-system heat storage capacity was found to be become twice than the PV/T system.
•Heat availability of system with PCM increased by two times than the system without it.
[34] •A PV/T/PCM system was tested for climatic conditions of Ireland Tested for climatic conditions of Dublin, Ireland
•Systems were investigated for three days PV rating not specified
•Thermal efficiency observed ranged between 20–25%, and heat storage efficiency increased by 3.9%
[35] •Studied multi crystalline PV cell performance with PCM RT27 of melting temperature 27 °C and heat
capacity of 184 kJ/kg
Tested for the climatic conditions of Melbourne,
Australia
•A temperature difference of 5 °C was observed with PCM system as compared to naturally cooled system;
1% increase in electrical efficiency is observed. This temperature difference rose to 15 °C for a 12 fin–
PCM system
•CTEG-PCMTS (Concentrated thermoelectric generator) system is able to generate 8.47 W of
thermoelectricity at 130 suns using 5 kg of paraffin based PCM.
[36] •A BIPV-PCM system installed in office building was studied Tested for climatic conditions of Lisbon, Portugal
•Electrical efficiency of 10% and thermal efficiency of around 12% was found. Prototype dimensions 0.73×1.75 m
Inner layer of PCM plasterboard
Outer layer of PV polycrystalline modules with peak
power 120 Wp

b).Simulation/Modeling/Laboratory testing based studies

[37] •Studied environmental benefits of incorporating PCM with PV Simulation study
•Studied influence of Glauber's salt and Na2HPO4·12H2O on BIPV system for the climatic conditions of
Zaragoza, Spain
•Best performance was obtained with mixture of the two inorganic PCM's.
•PCM melt temperature, thickness, wind speed are found to be critical parameters affecting system
behavior.
•These critical parameters should be selected as per the geographical location to obtain the right
performance
•A reduction in CO2 emissions as high as 62 kg/m2 in 25 years is possible with 1 °C temperature reduction
and uniform temperature of the PV cells
[38] •Studied performance of PV/T system in presence of MPCM−28 slurry (Micro-encapsulated PCM in water) System was tested under lab conditions
•Average diameter of the MPCM was 18.2 µm PV/T module area 1.28 m2
•Temperature rise of module was slow (32.4 °C at start to 34.6 °C at finish line) in presence of MPCM Tested under two solar simulator
•Increase in Reynolds from 1508 to 3496 led to increase in electrical output of the PV/T module from
103 W to 108.6 W.
•Net efficiency of module increased from 77.8% to 80.8% when the MPCM's wt% increase from 0% to 10%
•At solar radiation of 600 W/m2, Re of 3000, MPCM conc. of 10%, the electrical efficiency was found to be
14.1% quite higher than the normal efficiency values of 10–12%
[39] •Simulated the performance of PV system in presence of PCM and water. Simulation study
•On increasing the PCM thickness from 0 to 0.03 m, the PV output increased by 6.5%
•Increasing the conductivity of the PCM by a factor of 10, PV output increased by 3%
•PV/ST/PCM performance was 9% more compared to the PV only system
•PV performance increase with decrease in ST performance
[40] •Studied PV performance with RT25 and GR40 PCM's Tested under solar simulator, compact MSR 1200HR,
•GR40 could maintain panel temperature under 51 °C while RT25 could keep it under 32 °C for 150 min at
750 W/m2
1000 W metal halide lamp

•Fin spacing of 8–12 mm are appropriate to maintain low temperature for longer times.
•Straight fins of 36 mm leads to lowest surface temperature
•Soft iron wire matrix type of fin design gave the most stable temperature with the PCM
[41] •Studied a HP-PV/T system in presence of PCM for the climatic conditions of Beirut. Modeling
•Optimized the system to determine the PV cell area, PCM melt temperature, no. of PCM spheres for given
electrical and thermal energy requirements.
•Increase in efficiency at peak hours as high as 8.7% is observed with PCM's
•Heat pipe cooling increased the yearly power output by 4.47%
•Change in PCM melt temperature has more influence on thermal performance than the number of PCM
spheres
•Decrease in melting temperature of the PCM increase the electrical efficiency while reducing the thermal
performance
[42] •Heat and mass transfer in the solar panel modeled in the presence of PCM Simulation study
•Increasing PCM width is more effective than increase in height for cooling
•Cooling fins increase conductivity but boost phase transition too.
•PCM can maintain panel temperature under 40 °C for 80 min in insolation of 1000 W/m2
[43] •A Building Integrated Concentrated Photovoltaic system was studied in presence of PCM RT 40 Tested under Wacom solar simulator with solar
•Use of PCM dispersed the heat uniformly preventing creation of hot spots intensity of 1000 W/m2
•13.7% improvement in electrical conversion efficiency was obtained compared to non-PCM case
•A maximum 5.2 °C reduction in temperature with the Tmax at center being 58.8 °C and Tmin at center
being 26 °C
[44] •Three PCM's Waksol A, RT27 and RT35 were taken and effect of fin with these PCM's for PV thermal
regulation is studied
Tested using GR262 solar simulator

•Use of fins stabilized the temperature fluctuation in the system

•More the no. of fins, lesser is the stratification in PCM temperature and lower is the convection
•When fin spacing is reduced, conduction dominate the system and time of PCM melting is increased
(continued on next page)

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Table 4 (continued)

Ref.No. Important findings Study conditions

• However very rapid rise in panel temperature occur after PCM is melted
[45] • Simulated the performance of the BIPV panel with MEPCM Modeling/simulation
• For summer, use of MEPCM increased minimum efficiency by 0.13% while in winter by 0.33%
• while
Aspect ratio (A ) of MEPCM affect its impact on electrical efficiency, A −0.277 increased it by 0.09%
m
A =1 decreased it by 0.18%
m

• MEPCM
m
of melting temperature 34 °C performed better than 26 °C MEPCM, increasing minimum
efficiency by 0.12% compared to 0.09% for 26 °C melting MEPCM
[46] • Developed 1D finite difference method to evaluate PV-PCM performance Modeling
• Found that the governing parameter in PV-PCM performance is the solidification of the PCM at night.
[47] • Developed a theoretical model using finite element method for predicting panel temperature. Modeling
• Predicted day temperatures well for the sunny and cloudy days.
• Temperature calculated at night were far low than that measured.
undercooling problems are met, economic advantages expected out of
the use of salt based PCM are far higher as they are several times
cheaper than their paraffin counterparts.

4.3. Solidification of the PCM at night

It has been observed that the solidification of the PCM at night

results in performance problems. This is one of aspects ignored by most
Fig. 2. Using multiple PCM layers for effective cooling. of research studies. The simulation models predicted PCM temperature
well during the day but significant differences are found during the
observed (year round average) rather than the average ambient night. During solidification of the PCM heat transfer comprises of
conditions. Multiple PCM's with different melting temperature need complex flow geometries and convection becomes important. Further
to be introduced in order to adjust to diurnal changes in ambient the PCM detaches from the container wall adding resistance to heat
conditions. The solution could be using low melting PCM selected on transfer.
the basis of average ambient temperature/required panel temperature
placed directly in contact with the PV, then PCM with comparatively 4.3.1. Follow up research
higher melting PCM, selected on the basis of peak panel temperature is Solidification of the PCM at low temperatures and during night is a
placed to ensure high temperature difference for quick heat dissipation serious issue which requires focused research for the success of this
as shown in Fig. 2. technology. It is found that for high density materials, the top layers do
Low thermal resistance should be ensured between the two PCM not allow the lower layers to melt and take up most of the heat in the
layers so that the heat can be rapidly transferred between them. Using form of sensible heat storage. This prevents melting of the lower layers
multiple PCM not only increase the heat capacity of the system but also during the day times. This layer then adds to the thermal resistance
serve to reduce the system weight and effective PCM thickness which and prevents the solidification of the top PCM layers during the night
causes problem of incomplete solidification and thermal stratification. hours. Thus there is a need to properly model and optimize the size of
However, the relative amount of low melting PCM with respect to high PCM for a given system keeping these aspects in mind. There is also a
melting PCM to ensure complete melting during the thermal regulation need to develop new materials which are able to meet the criteria and
period needs to be further conceptualized. cater to the system requirements. Further active systems must be
conceptualized to ensure appropriate cycling in case the climate is not
4.2. Salt hydrates for PCM cooling suitable to allow natural solidification. All these aspects needs to be
further studied since the PCM solidification is an important constraint
Salt hydrates are potential candidates for cooling of PV panels in on its overall performance of the PCM based systems.
terms of their high conductivity, large heat storage capacity and lower
volumetric expansion but suffer from large undercooling which creates 4.4. Flammability of the PCM
solidification problems at night especially in summers when the
thermal regulation need for PV panels is the highest. Organic PCM PCM's especially paraffins and fatty acids need to be carefully used
on the other hand suffers from poor conductivity, low heat capacity and since they are highly flammable. Since the back surface temperature of
high volumetric expansions but are free of sub cooling and super PV panels in high insolation areas can reach really high temperatures (
cooling problems. The performance improvements have been observed > 80 °C) during peak insolation hours, it is necessary to ensure that
with organic PCM in spite of its low thermal conductivity however in PCM is safe to use up to this limit.
none of the studied systems, economics advantage outperformed the
invested costs. This serves as a strong motivation for working on salt 4.4.1. Follow up research
hydrates which has far better conductivity while being several times Not much literature is found on testing the flammability of PCM
cheaper than organic PCM. though it is an important consideration for its use. PV panels reach very
high temperatures around 80 °C and even higher in hot climates and
4.2.1. Follow up research during peak insolation hours. Paraffins and fatty acids particularly need
Literature shows that potential of salt hydrates for cooling of the PV attention as they are highly flammable but are important candidates for
panels is not much studied due its inherent limitations i.e. very high PV cooling. Salt hydrates are however safe to use.
sub-cooling. The only material tested for its PV cooling potential is
CaCl2.6H20 which is able to reduce the panel temperature by as much 4.5. Status of PV-PCM system performance studies
as 21 °C [17] and maintain it at constant temperature for large
duration in almost all the studies tested. If the challenges with their Most of the PV-PCM system studies are based on modeling

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validated through experiments under laboratory conditions which • PCM is not an economic and the most preferred cooling solution for
cannot account for the discrepancies found in performance under real PV panels as yet primarily due to its low thermal conductivity,
climatic conditions like changing wind effects, non-uniform insolation, unreliable solidification behavior, lack of enhancement in perfor-
shading, ambient temperature changes etc. Very few performance mance year round due to lack of flexibility in changing the
studies on these systems under actual real conditions are carried out parameters as per the need of the climate (like flow rate with water
in Indonesia, Pakistan, Ireland, South Korea, Australia and Portugal. system) and high system costs.
Also, for these systems too performance is only monitored for few days • Suitability of the PCM for PV cooling depends on geographical
of the year. location and the year round climatic conditions. PCM based cooling
appears to be economical only for areas which experience high
4.5.1. Follow up research insolation with high ambient temperatures year round and experi-
More detailed research should be focused on long term monitoring encing less inter-seasonal climatic changes.
of PV-PCM based systems under real climatic conditions. The PCM • Organic PCMs in spite of their low thermal conductivity are found to
must be tested year round to analyze the fraction of time it enhances improve the electrical efficiency of the PV panels as high as 5% but
PV efficiency. It should then be compared with the fraction of time for none of the systems, economic advantage using PCM out-
when efficiency falls in the presence of PCM. This occurs due to the performed the invested cost. This serves as a strong motivation to
heat accumulated in PCM which prevents the fall in PV temperature or work on challenges presented by salt hydrates to be used for PV
causes PV overheating after peak hours when PCM completely melts. cooling.
This comparison is essential to evaluate the real economic advantage of • A study on potential of salt hydrates for PV cooling is limited in
using PCM for cooling of PV systems. literature with the only material widely studied being CaCl2.6H20
• CaCl2 .6H 2 0, Capric-Palmitic acid (CP) and Capric Lauric acid
4.6. Suitability, economic and environmental benefits of the use of (CL) appear to be suitable PCM's but CaCl2 .6H 20 suffers from
PCM cyclic instability while CL & CP suffers from poor conductivity
and large melting range. These aspects needs to be further
Most of the studies identifies the suitability of the PCM based on the studied.
observed increase in performance for certain duration tested however • PCM of melting temperature greater than 30 °C appear to be
the choice of PCM, orientation of the PV panels, PCM thickness, width promising in maintaining constant PV panel temperature as com-
and thermophysical parameters are a function of the location at which pared to low melting PCM ( < 25 °C). The former avoid formation of
the system is to be installed. All the locations may not be suitable for hot spots by keeping the panel at uniform temperature and also
PV cooling using PCM. The choice of PCM as a coolant has to be made ensures proper solidification in hot summer nights. The latter
based on the detailed analysis of the climatic conditions of the location however becomes ineffective after peak insolation hours and also
under consideration. face problems with complete solidification at night.
• PCM-PV cooling system are more economically suitable for building
4.6.1. Follow up research integrated designs in which heat dissipation from the back surface is
Suitability of a PCM for cooling of PV panels is a strong function of difficult and where the possibilities of heat reuse are high.
geographical area and type of arrangement for best performance • Suitability of the PCM as a coolant should be tested by more detailed
whether it has to be single PCM system, multiple PCM system, PCM performance studies year round under real outdoor conditions along
with heat sinks etc. It is therefore necessary to test the PCM with LCA and payback time analysis.
performance year round and perform detailed LCA analysis, expected • Using heat sinks and conductivity enhancers with the PCM's are
enhancement in PV lifetime and efficiency due to cooling, expected found to improve the overall efficiency of the PV panels several
payback time and study of fraction of the year when the influence of times.
PCM is negative on the PV panel performance. These results should be • Focus should also be directed to developing new materials with
carefully studied to find if the use of PCM would be an environmental better conductivity to meet the challenges in PV cooling technology.
friendly economic coolant choice.
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