Efficacy of passive cooling panels for silicon photovoltaic mini-modules using phase change material and expanded graphite

IF 6.3 2区材料科学 Q2 ENERGY & FUELS

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells Pub Date : 2025-09-10 DOI:10.1016/j.solmat.2025.113928

Sereno Sacchet , Francesco Valentini , Mirko Coser , Davide D'Amico , Riccardo Po , Luca Fambri

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Abstract

This study details the effectiveness of Phase Change Material (PCM) composite panels to improve the performance of solar devices through passive cooling realized by the phase transition in the range 30–50 °C. PCM-based panels (70 g) of thermal energy capacity 11–15 kJ (143–195 J/cm³) were obtained with three organic PCMs impregnating expanded graphite (EG). Commercial PV mini-modules were compared in outdoor experiments, with PCM panels at single, double or triple layer, by using dedicated 3D printed housings to position the panels in contact with the solar devices. Tests under sunlight exposure were conducted in Trento (Italy, 46° N, 11° E) during summer 2024 to estimate the efficiency increase. Thermal management parameters were used to quantify the positive performance of PCM panels in minimizing the maximum temperature, and to compare with literature data. In particular, the results were correlated to different temperature coefficient to extend the validity to a broader case history. The module temperature could be decreased by 15–30°C for hours, in some cases completely smoothing the daily temperature peak, guaranteeing an output energy enhancement of up to 11 %. The integrity of the panels was maintained during all the period of sunlight exposure. The obtained results of passive cooling have positively confirmed that these panels can be placed in contact with the PV devices by exploiting the unused empty space commonly present on the back side of PV panels and can be used either for new installations or for the retrofitting of existing systems.

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采用相变材料和膨胀石墨的硅光伏微型组件被动式冷却板的功效

本研究详细介绍了相变材料（PCM）复合板在30-50°C范围内通过相变实现被动冷却来提高太阳能器件性能的有效性。用三种有机pcm浸渍膨胀石墨（EG），得到热容量为11-15 kJ （143-195 J/cm3）的pcm基面板（70 g）。在室外实验中，通过使用专用的3D打印外壳将面板与太阳能设备接触，将商用光伏迷你模块与单层、双层或三层的PCM面板进行比较。2024年夏季在特伦托（意大利，46°N, 11°E）进行了阳光照射试验，以估计效率的提高。热管理参数用于量化PCM面板在最小化最高温度方面的积极性能，并与文献数据进行比较。特别是，结果与不同的温度系数相关，以扩大更广泛的病例历史的有效性。模块温度可以在数小时内降低15-30°C，在某些情况下完全平滑每日温度峰值，保证输出能量提高高达11%。在阳光照射的所有时间里，面板的完整性都保持了下来。被动冷却的结果已经证实，这些面板可以通过利用PV面板背面未使用的空间与PV设备接触，并且可以用于新安装或现有系统的改造。

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来源期刊

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

12.60

自引率

11.60%

发文量

513

审稿时长

47 days

期刊介绍： Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells is intended as a vehicle for the dissemination of research results on materials science and technology related to photovoltaic, photothermal and photoelectrochemical solar energy conversion. Materials science is taken in the broadest possible sense and encompasses physics, chemistry, optics, materials fabrication and analysis for all types of materials.