Solar Energy, Vol.188, 318-326, 2019
Corrugating photovoltaic modules enhances thermal efficiency and power output
Solar panels are the most widely deployed renewable energy systems worldwide, providing a good amount of electrical power in a small area compared to other renewable energy systems. In the summer the temperature of the solar panel is increased and the efficiency of the solar panel is decreased. A cooling manner is required to maintain the temperature and increase the efficiency of the solar panel. This paper studied the effects of the passive cooling for the lower side of photovoltaic modules using corrugated surfaces technology. 2-D continuity, Navier-Stokes and energy equation were adjusted in relation to the content of the problem, which expressed the conservation of mass, momentum and thermal energy related side by side to the diode and photovoltaic equations. Different velocity, shear stress, stream function and temperature profiles are estimated. Shockley diode equation using 5-parameter module is used to simulate the photovoltaic module, it is found that the solar panels can be passively cooled using corrugated surfaces technology, where the corrugated surfaces reduced the temperature of the photovoltaic modules which leads to an increase in their power output and efficiency.