Enhancing PV Panel Performance with Different Types of Phase Change Material (PCM): An Experimental Study

Abstract

This study examined two solar panels with a high producing capacity of 250 W for performance enhancement utilizing several types of paraffin wax (RT57, RT61, and RT68) connected to the panel's rear surface. Two solar panels (one reference and one combined with PCM; PV-PCM) are used for outdoor tests. The current implementation is made with three types of PCM with a fixed thickness (3 cm) and with different inclination angles of 10°, 20°, 30°, and 40°. According to the results, the PV panels' tops had the maximum temperature spread, while their bottoms showed the lowest variation in temperature. At an inclination angle of 10◦, the temperature on the upper side of the plate is 18.8% higher than the lower side, 14.3%, and 12.2% for PCM1, PCM2, and PCM3, respectively. There is also an improved electrical power output of 16.8% for the PV-PCM panel with 3 cm PCM thickness over the reference panel (PV) with a tilt angle of 40◦. Relatedly, raising the inclination angle from 10◦ to 40◦ improves the Energy efficiency of PV-PCM with a thickness of 3 cm PCM by 10.4%. Finally, using 3 cm thick PCM improves the Energy efficiency of the PV-PCM panel by 17.4% compared to PV with an inclination angle of 30◦.