Concentrated Pv Cell Solar Panel Cooling System

At present, the conversion efficiency of indium phosphide / gallium indium arsenic / germanium triple junction Concentrated pv cell has been reported to be 41.1%. However, even with such high conversion efficiency, about 60% of the energy is still converted into heat. If the Concentrated pv cell is not cooled, too high temperature will reduce the conversion efficiency of the Concentrated pv cell, and long-term high temperature will cause irreversible damage to the cell.

 

Traditional concentrated pv cell cooling mode

Air cooling: natural convection is adopted. A copper or aluminum heat dissipation base plate can be added on the back of the Concentrated pv cell, or fins can be added to increase the heat exchange effect. Natural cooling has the advantages of convenient installation and low cost, but the cooling effect is limited.

Traditional concentrated pv cell cooling mode

Water cooling: according to the table below, the heat transfer property of water is much better than that of air.

Traditional Concentrated pv cell cooling mode		Process convective heat transfer coefficient（W/m2K)
process	Air	1~10
Natural flow	Water	200 ~ 1000
	Air	20 ~ 100
Forced counter flow	Water	1000 ~ 15000

Liquid jet impingement cooling mode：
The so-called liquid jet impingement technology refers to the ejection of liquid working medium from micropores
To the cooled surface, the heat transfer coefficient between working medium and surface decreases due to strong disturbance
Keep at a high level. At present, the thermal resistance of this technology
Lower than microchannel, generally up to 10-5 ~ 10-6km2 / W.
Heat pipe cooling mode
At present, heat pipe cooling technology has been widely used in CPU radiator, but it is rarely used in the heat dissipation of photovoltaic cells.
Whether it is a Fresnel lens or a paraboloid mirror, the spot will be uneven when focusing, which will affect the uneven resistance of the Concentrated pv cell array, resulting in the reduction of the Concentrated pv cell output power, and the greater the focusing multiple, the more obvious this effect is. Heat pipe cooling technology can overcome this disadvantage. In addition to high heat transfer capacity, heat pipe itself has temperature uniformity.

Concentrated pv cell type	Condenser multiple	cooling mode
Single Concentrated pv cell	1-1000	air-cooled, heat pipe
Linear condenser	<25	water cooled, heat pipe
	≥25	water cooling, liquid immersion
Concentrated pv cell array	<150	microchannel, heat pipe
	≥150	microchannel, jet impact, liquid immersion