Abstract :
A promising option to reduce the cost of silicon photovoltaic systems is to concentrate the sunlight incident on the solar cells to
increase the output power. However, this leads to higher module temperatures which affects performance adversely and may also cause
long term damage. Proper cooling is therefore necessary to operate the system under concentrated radiation. The present work was
undertaken to circumvent the problem in practical manner. A suitable liquid, connected to a heat exchanger, was placed in the housing
of the photovoltaic module and unwanted wavelengths of solar radiation were filtered out to minimise overheating of the cells. The selection
of the liquid was based on factors such as boiling point, transparency towards visible radiation, absorption of infrared and ultraviolet
radiation, stability, flow characteristics, heat transfer properties, and electrical nonconductivity. Using a square parabolic type
reflector, more than two fold increase in output power was realised on a clear sunny day employing a 0.13 m2 silicon solar module. Without
the cooling arrangement the panel temperature rose uncontrollably.
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