Smith, CJ, Forster, PM and Crook, R (2014) Global analysis of photovoltaic energy output enhanced by phase change material cooling. Applied Energy, 126. 21 - 28. ISSN 0306-2619
Abstract
This paper describes a global analysis to determine the increase in annual energy output attained by a PV system with an integrated phase change material (PCM) layer. The PCM acts as a heat sink and limits the peak temperature of the PV cell thereby increasing efficiency. The simulation uses a one-dimensional energy balance model with ambient temperature, irradiance and wind speed extracted from ERA-Interim reanalysis climate data over a 1.5° longitude. ×. 1.5° latitude global grid. The effect of varying the PCM melting temperature from 0. °C to 50. °C was investigated to identify the optimal melting temperature at each grid location. PCM-enhanced cooling is most beneficial in regions with high insolation and little intra-annual variability in climate. When using the optimal PCM melting temperature, the annual PV energy output increases by over 6% in Mexico and eastern Africa, and over 5% in many locations such as Central and South America, much of Africa, Arabia, Southern Asia and the Indonesian archipelago. In Europe, the energy output enhancement varies between 2% and nearly 5%. In general, high average ambient temperatures correlate with higher optimal PCM melting temperatures. The sensitivity to PCM melting temperature was further investigated at locations where large solar PV arrays currently exist or are planned to be constructed. Significant improvements in performance are possible even when a sub-optimal PCM melting temperature is used. A brief economic assessment based on typical material costs and energy prices shows that PCM cooling is not currently cost-effective for single-junction PV.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Applied Energy. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Applied Energy, 126, (2014) DOI 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.03.083 |
Keywords: | Global study; Heat transfer; Phase change material; Photovoltaics; Simulation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) > Energy Research Institute (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 16 Dec 2014 13:30 |
Last Modified: | 15 Jan 2018 17:53 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.03.083 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.03.083 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:81538 |