New Cooling Systems Will Pave the Way to Further Solar Adoption

North America has a limited number of summer and winter days. The limited sunlight forces many solar panel owners to use high-quality storage systems that ensure they have power even during days with low or no sunlight. 

The tropical climates of Southeast Asian and nearby regions seem more conducive for solar adoption, but it hasn’t seen mass adoption in these areas. Here are a few explanations.

Solar energy is collected from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Even without heat, exposure to UV rays allows the photovoltaic cells to collect energy and convert it for use. Heat is detrimental to solar panels; like machines, heat can increase wear on its components and affect its reliability.

Asian countries and nearby regions are known for hot temperatures. Continued exposure to the sun can increase heat 50% more than North America’s cities, which can severely affect the performance of solar panels. 

Fortunately, many in the region are aware of this issue and are trying new methods to improve solar panel cooling. For instance, researchers in Iran are using ultrasonic thermoelectric generators to reduce solar panel heat generation when exposed to tropical and arid climates. Learn more about it below from PV Magazine.

Iranian researchers have looked at how ultrasonic thermoelectric generators could be used to lower the operating temperature of solar modules. Their new system can generate cold steam via ultrasonic piezoelectrics in a simple batch system.

Researchers from the Kermanshah University of Technology in Iran have investigated the possibility of reducing the operating temperature of solar panels with ultrasonic (US) thermoelectric generators (TEG).

“Although ultrasonic technology has been recognized as an effective new method for increasing the efficiency of heat transfer processes, research on the use of ultrasonic waves to increase the cooling performance of the PV systems is very rare,” researcher Amin Shahsavar told pv magazine. “However, so far no studies have been conducted on the use of cold vapor induced by high-frequency ultrasonic waves for cooling the cold side of TEGs in a PV-TEG hybrid system.”

Ultrasonic energy is generally used in other applications as a cooling method by spraying and atomizing a cold liquid to hot surfaces to reduce their temperature.

“High-frequency ultrasonic waves can produce cold steam and can atomize water droplets, which have a high specific surface area for the heat transfer process,” the scientists explained.

The proposed system can generate cold steam by ultrasonic piezoelectrics in a simple batch system. The generated cold steam is in contact with the cold side of the TEGs that are connected to the backside of a solar module.

They academics the system with a 10 W solar panel measuring 36 cm × 27 cm × 10 cm, which was provided by Taiwanese semiconductor maker ACDC Taiwan. They used a solar simulator consisting of a chamber with a wooden base and a roof, with the sidewalls being covered with aluminum foil sheets. (Continue reading here to learn more)

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