Manufacturing and Performance Assessment of Solar Photo-Voltaic Modules by Adopting Various Heat Dissipation Techniques: A Review

Abstract One of the major drawbacks in the performance of PV modules is their operating temperature which grows linearly with the irradiance. It is well known for a fact that solar cell temperature is directly dependent on the electrical conversion efficiency of a PV module. The extra heat generated by the PV module due to the absorption of incoming solar irradiance is seen as an electrical loss to the overall output of the system and also results in thermal stresses getting developed. Therefore, to tackle this issue of overheating, the focus of PV module research in the past two decades has always been to analyze & develop various kinds of Heat dissipation techniques to reduce its cell temperature thereby increasing the maximum power output of the panel. This work presents a comprehensive review of the technologies adopted by researchers for heat dissipation of PV systems by both active and passive cooling techniques such as hybrid Solar PV/T system, usage of phase change materials, improved heat exchanger channel design, heat sinks, jet impingement cooling, thermoelectric cooling etc. This manuscript considers also the most economical, feasible and cost-effective heat dissipation /cooling technique of the PV modules and finally to give a perspective of how feasible they are in being adopted by the manufacturing sector. The outcomes of this study can help researchers, designers and engineers to analyze and come up with a practical solution in development of PV systems.