We can increase produced electricity by photovoltaic systems in several ways, with solar radiation thickeners, sun-tracking systems, and solar cell cooling. In the paper, we explored cooling because it is an area where we can still improve performance and because it is a topic that has not been much researched yet. With the experiment, we checked the cooling with phase-change materials and the evaporative cooling with a moistened building block made of artificial fibers and with a moistened building block made of natural fibers. Firstly, we arranged the measuring line with appropriate meters, and then we checked if the temperatures of all three virtual solar cells were the same. After comparison, we upgraded the experiment with the evaporative cooling technique and cooling with phase-change materials. We used meteorological data from three different climates in Europe and then calculated operating efficiency and annual electricity production. The results showed that cooling with phase-change materials did not work because they acted as an insulator on the underside. Evaporative cooling with artificial fibers worked much better than cooling with phase-change materials. Evaporative cooling with natural fibers produced even better results.
|