Performance augmentation of PV panels using phase change material cooling technique: A review

The solar photovoltaics as an environmentally beneficial technique, have emerged as an important source of electrical power, to meet rising energy requirement and supplanting the corresponding shortages in traditional energy sources. Due to a considerable portion of the solar radiation dropping on photovoltaic cells is converted to heat; the photovoltaic power plants' efficiency is reduced. The photovoltaics panel efficiency decreases if the temperature increases, this depends on the type of solar cell used. Controlling the temperature of the solar photovoltaics has become essential to improving photovoltaic panel efficiency, especially in places where the ambient temperature is extremely high. The current paper evaluates the literature related to the application of phase change material for temperature management and electrical efficiency enhancement in photovoltaics modules. The major goal is to identify the important research topics in order to ensure that the technology performs as expected and commercially viable. Various strategies must be examined and enhanced for the site under study in order to achieve the greatest photovoltaics panel performance. According to the findings, the inorganic phase change materials offer a high capacity for cooling solar cells. Only places with high year-round solar radiation and less seasonal transitions climatic fluctuations will be cost-effective for phase change material-based photovoltaic systems. However, less thermal conductivity, in addition to low cooling are two primary issues for phase change material.