The present invention relates generally to a photovoltaic cooling system. More specifically, the present invention is a passive cooling system for photovoltaic panels.
The collection of solar energy takes many forms. The most desirable configuration is the direct conversation of solar energy to electricity. The heart of the photovoltaic system is a thin flat layer of semiconductor material. When the material is struck by sunlight, electrons are freed, producing an electric current. The direct-current (DC) power is passed through a DC load, into a storage battery, or converted to alternating current (AC) for general use in electric utility grid. Typically, individual solar cells are ganged together to form photovoltaic modules. Typically, about half the cost of a solar system lies with the solar cell modules, and the remainder is directed toward power conditioning, electrical wiring, installation, and site preparation.
Typically, silicone or gallium arsenide is used to fabricate solar cells, although other semiconductor materials are being developed. Silicone technology is the most advanced because it is the least expensive, and takes many different forms including single-crystal, polycrystal, and amorphous configurations.
The efficiency of solar cells decreases as the temperature of the solar cells increases. Furthermore, increasing temperature also has detrimental effects on other components of the photovoltaic system, including thermal stress which may result in failures in the photovoltaic system. Therefore, a method to cool the photovoltaic system is desirable.
Cooling can be provided by both active and passive systems. Active cooling systems include Rankine cycle system and absorption system, both of which require additional hardware and costs. Passive cooling systems make use of three natural processes: convection cooling; radiative cooling; and evaporative cooling from water surfaces exposed to the atmosphere.
The present invention is a passive convection cooling system for photovoltaic panels utilizing principles of aerodynamics to channel natural air flow under the photovoltaic panels and to increase the rate of heat transfer to greatly increase the convection rate and decrease the temperature of the photovoltaic panels thereby increasing the efficiency of the solar cells and decreasing failures of the photovoltaic system. The photovoltaic cooling system comprises of multiple members arranged in predetermined configurations and affixed under the photovoltaic panel to direct natural air flow, according to aerodynamic principles, to increase the rate of heat transfer under the photovoltaic panel to greatly increase the convection rate to effectively cool the photovoltaic system.