Experimental investigation of photovoltaic passive cooling methods using low-cost metallic, ceramic, and cellulose porous media
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Maintaining efficient photovoltaic (PV) performance in tropical regions requires addressing the negative impact of high temperatures on cell performance. This study aims to identify the optimal passive cooling configuration for PVs in warm climates through experimental and economic analysis of four low-cost porous media. Among them, alumina-enhanced silicon-carbide micro-porous medium (SiC) is developed for the first time as an easy-to-construct porous medium for solar applications. Furthermore, residue wax with melting temperature of about 40 is employed as the phase change material (PCM) due to its favorable availability and cost-effectiveness. The scenarios under study, which include Metal pellets/PCM, SiC porous ceramic/PCM, aluminum shavings/PCM, SiC porous ceramic/water, and cellulose pads/water, were tested and compared against an individual PV panel. According to the technical results, these scenarios demonstrated temperature reductions of 16.3%, 10.9%, 9.3%, 4.2%, and 3.2%, respectively. Additionally, they exhibited average enhancements in electrical efficiency of 10.6%, 7.4%, 5.3%, 3.2%, and 1.3%, respectively. The economic study revealed that the Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for cooling scenarios were $0.134, $0.165, $0.139, $0.155, and $0.166 per kWh, respectively. Accordingly, PCM-based passive cooling methods utilizing either more regularly shaped porosity or micro-porosity, such as metal pellets or SiC porous ceramics, offer superior technical performance.
Authors: Mojtaba Akbari, Reza Mohammadi, Kamran Zamanpour, Mohammad Amin Vaziri Rad, Leila Fereidooni, Alibakhsh Kasaeian
Institution: University of Tehran
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,170
OpenAlex ID: W4409841566