Assessment of photovoltaic power generation using fin augmented passive cooling technique for different climates

This research work entails a methodical study tackling one deterrent causing lower conversion efficiency for photovoltaic system, i.e., module temperature. Based on literature, a passive cooling system comprising of fins has been designed and an overall assessment has been conducted for fins integrated photovoltaic modules to enhance overall performance. A collective experimental and simulation study has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of passive cooling system in mitigating high module temperatures. The results of the experiment conducted during 3 months (from October-March), presented an average overall efficiency increment of 5.47 percent with curtailment of 40 percent in temperature coefficient for variable outdoor conditions. The simulations conducted further presented good results, highlighting the effectiveness of the proposed method of module cooling for hot climatic regions with an enhancement up to 6 percent . In contrast, lower gain (up to 2 percent ) was realised for colder regions. Further analysis revealed that the difference in array temperature for hotter climate is over 10 ?C between original and modified system, while no considerable variation was found for colder climates. Cooling the module proved to be an effective method of enhancing performance, while future cost-based studies may assist in establishing the feasibility of cooling strategies for variable climates.