Review of cooling techniques used to enhance the efficiency of photovoltaic power systems

Photovoltaic (PV) panels are one of the most important solar energy sources used to convert the sun’s radiation falling on them into electrical power directly. Many factors affect the functioning of photovoltaic panels, including external factors and internal factors. External factors such as wind speed, incident radiation rate, ambient temperature, and dust accumulation on the PV cannot be controlled. The internal factors can be controlled, such as PV surface temperature. Some of the radiation falling on the surface of the PV cell turns into electricity, while the remainder of incident radiation is absorbed inside the PV cell. This, in turn, elevates its surface temperature. Undesirably, the higher panel temperature, the lower conversion performance, and lesser reliability over the long term occur. Hence, many cooling systems have been designed and investigated, aiming to effectively avoid the excessive temperature rise and enhance their efficiency. Many cooling methods are used to cool solar cells, such as passive cooling, active cooling, cooling with phase change materials (PCMs), and cooling with PCM with other additives such as nanoparticles or porous metal. In this work, the common methods utilized for cooling PV panels are reviewed and analyzed, focusing on the last methods, and summarizing all the researches that dealt with cooling PV solar cells with PCM and porous structures.