This full-text paper was peer-reviewed and accepted to be presented at the IEEE WiSPNET 2017 conference.

Different Types of Cooling Systems Used

in Photovoltaic Module Solar
System: A Review
Himanshu Sainthiya1 and Narendra S. Beniwal2
Electronics and Communication Department Bundelkhand Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jhansi, UP, India
Email: 1 himanshusainthiya@gmail.com 2 narendra.beniwal@gmail.com

Abstract—Solar energy is an important part of the renewable

energy. Photovoltaic (PV) cell converts a part of solar energy into
electrical energy and remainder is converted into heat. This heat
inversely affects the efficiency of the solar cell. The efficiency
of solar panel depends upon three factors: the intensity of the
solar radiation flux, the quality of the semiconductor used and
the operating temperature of the semiconductor cell. It is known
that efficiency of the photovoltaic cell decreases on increasing
the temperature of PV cell. To maintain the temperature of the
PV cell, incorporation of a cooling system is required. Proposed
review gives a comparative account of different types of cooling
systems incorporated like air based cooling system, liquid based
cooling system, heat pipe based cooling system, PCM (Phase
Changed Material) based cooling system etc. While reviewing
the cooling techniques water based cooling system was found to
be the most efficient system efficiency (up to 35%) presided by
PCM based and the least efficient was found to be air based
cooling. Present review also defines the utility and importance of
optimization technique, which predicts the more optimum values
of cooling systems. This is an innovative approach in the field
of photovoltaics cooling system which gives optimum (maximum
values and minimum values) values for prescribed parameter
using optimization technique.
Index Terms—Photovoltaic module, Cooling technique,
Optimization technique.
I. I NTRODUCTION
Present scenario depicts a picture of hiking oil prices and
depleting natural energy as well as fossil fuels from nature.
Today mankind is compelled to look for an alternate source
of energy for its sustainability, hence renewable sources of
energy like wind, solar, geo thermal energies etc holds the
most promising and bright future ahead, therefore it has gained
a worldwide attention. The research and development sector of
many developed as well as developing countries are progres-
sively working on it to develop new methods and technologies
of harvesting sustainable renewable energy in order to meet the
necessitating demands of energy crisis, reduced environmental
pollution and mitigating energy demands [1]. Solar energy is
the most interesting and promising source that plays a vital
role in meeting the increasing energy demands and saving the
depleted fossil fuel resources. To harvest solar radiations at
their maximum limits specialized cells have been designed
which converts solar radiations into direct current, these cells
are termed as photovoltaic cell, and these are made up of
semiconductor material that helps to convert the radiations
into DC.
Fig. 1. Basic diagram of Phtovoltaic solar cell.
Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating
electric power by using solar panels which converts solar
radiations into flowing electrons to generate electric current.
Photovoltaic cells are made up of semi conductor materials
that directly convert sunlight into electricity. When intense sun
rays are incident on these solar cells it dislodges and releases
electrons within the material which then mobilizes to produce
a direct electric current(DC). PV cells are combined in such a
way so as to make modules which are then encased in glass or
clear plastics. These modules can be arranged together so as to
make an array that are sized to the specific application. Most
commercial PV cells are made up of silicon and comes in
three general types namely, mono crystalline, multi crystalline
and amorphous. Single crystalline or mono crystalline are
commonly made using wafers of silicon cut from a single,
cylindrical crystal of silicon. PV cells made from this type of
assembly are found to be the most efficient with approximately
an efficiency of 15% but are also one of the most expensive
to produce. They are identifiable as having individual cells
shaped like circles or rectangles.
Fig. 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of typical solar
photovoltaic cell. The basic strategy behind the mechanism of
electricity generation through a photovoltaic cell lies in the
fact that when these intense radiations are incident over solar
panel leading to mobilization of electrons thereby generating
a potential difference which can be seen in the form of direct
electric current obtained.
Previous studies states that output power from the photo-
voltaic panels is proportional to the amount of the incident
solar radiations and photovoltaic cell temperature. It is evident
that increasing the incidental solar radiations on a PV module

978-1-5090-4442-9/17/$31.00 2017
c IEEE 1500
 This full-text paper was peer-reviewed and accepted to be presented at the IEEE WiSPNET 2017 conference.
Fig. 2. IV Characteristic of Phtovoltaic solar cell.
leads to an increase in the PV modules power output [2].
Studies have established that as the solar plate temperature in-
creases the efficiency of photovoltaic cell decreases. Therefore,
incorporating some kind of cooling system is required in
order to lower down the temperature of Photovoltaic (PV)
cell. Continuous elevation in the temperature of photovoltaic
cell reduces the plates efficiency. Solar cell performance
decreases with increasing temperature, the conversion process
in photovoltaic module is regulated by operating temperatures.
Whenever a decrease in the photovoltaic module is recorded
it may be attributed to the following factors internal recom-
bination rates, due to increased carrier concentration. Solar
photovoltaic module has reported to show better results in
cold climate than in hot climate. It has been reported that
every 25 ◦ C increase in temperature the output efficiency
drops by 0.25% in amorphous cells and a drop of 0.4%–
0.5% is recorded for crystalline cells [3] Therefore various
kinds of cooling systems have been developed out of which
water pumping cooling system is the most widely acceptable
application of PV module in developing countries and has been
considered a major criterion for socio-economic development.
In the past decades several papers have been published on
cooling system in solar cell application. This has gained
interest and attracted [4] many researchers to put forward their
indelible effort to further propagate research in this emerging
field. Therefore, several papers on cooling systems in solar-cell
applications [1–34] have been published in recent years.
The Fig. 2 shows the voltage–current (V–I) characteristics
of a typical silicon Photovoltaic cell operating under normal
conditions. The power delivered by a PV cell is the product of
voltage and current (V–I). With the solar cell open-circuited
that is not connected to any load the current will be at its
minimum (zero) and the voltage across the cell is at its
maximum, known as the solar cells open circuit voltage, or
Voc . At the other extreme, when the solar cell is short circuited,
that is the positive and negative leads connected together, the
voltage across the cell is at its minimum (zero) but the current
flowing out of the cell reaches its maximum, known as the
solar cells short circuit current, or Isc .
The organization of the presented paper is a sincere effort in
bringing about the recent researches that have been carried out
in the field of photovoltaics. After reviewing number of papers
on cooling systems, few of them have been presented which
shows the feasibility and success of some cooling systems that
have been practically applied and proved to be revolutionary
technique in this field. Water cooling system has attracted
1501
researchers and fellows due to its high efficiency and low
costing. A novel approach has also been introduced through
this paper which uses the optimization technique to predict the
flow rates of water. Hence, this is a plethora of cooling systems
which analyses the maximum output efficiencies of different
cooling systems and establishes the best one but installing an
optimization algorithm will lead to the fullest and successful
utilization of this technique.
II. C OOLING T ECHNIQUES
Various technologies can be employed to achieve cooling
of PV systems such as liquid based, Air-based, heat pipe-
based, PCM-based (Phase change Materials). However, the
cooling technique is dependent on several factors [5] such as,
type of photovoltaic technology used, types of photovoltaic
geometries and weather conditions (place) at which the system
is installed. In cooling systems, the cooling techniques have
been classified as-
(1) Passive cooling system.
(2) Active cooling system.
Passive cooling system refers to technologies which reduces
the temperature of PV module by absorbing heat from it with-
out additional power consumption. This mechanism implies
transporting heat from where it is generated and dissipating
it to the environment. In the phase change material there
are many method of passive cooling options are available,
simplest forms involve application of solids of high thermal
conductivity metals, such as aluminum and copper, or an array
of fins or other extruded surfaces to enhance heat transfer
to the ambient [6]. More complex systems involve the use
of phase change materials (PCMs) and various methods for
natural circulation, in addition to the use of heat pipes that are
able to transfer heat efficiently through a boiling-condensing
process. Active cooling systems comprises of heat extraction
mechanism using devices such as fans or pump water onto
the panels to extract away the heat. Although an active system
consumes power, they are used in situations where the added
efficiency to the panels is greater than the energy demanded
to power the system. These systems mainly used in these
situations where some other benefit can be achieved, such as
waste heat recovery for domestic water heating.
In the present time the major existing problem in photo-
voltaic cell is conversion of radiation in to electrical impulses
and cost of the photovoltaic solar cell. To overcome through
both of the issues applying a cooling technique in the PV
cell is the best ways. Many methods have been proposed and
used to fulfill the purpose of photovoltaic cell cooling [7].
These methods fall under two major categories of active
cooling, which require energy to drive the system, and passive
cooling, which does not require energy to drive the system.
Phase change material (PCM) thermal regulation is also the
method of passive category. Passive cooling method is mostly
used as compared to active cooling methods for industrial
photovoltaic power production because it does not require
energy for pumping water or air for cooling and hence requires
less maintenance.
 This full-text paper was peer-reviewed and accepted to be presented at the IEEE WiSPNET 2017 conference.
Active cooling methods are generally more effective and
also more costly. For both passive and active cooling systems
the commonly used cooling mediums are air and water. Based
on the type of Photovoltaic cooling system the three categories
are as follows
1. PCM (Phase change Material) based.
2. Water cooling system based.
3. Water cooling system with optimization based.
III. L ITERATURE R EVIEW
Ghania [8] used the concept of the impurity photovoltaic
effect (IPV) to enhance the cell conversion efficiency. The
concept of IPV is based on the insertion of the deep defects
in the solar cell. They investigate the effect of the impurity
and structure parameter on silicon solar cell characteristic [9]
The result of this concept shows the significant process can
be notice in short circuit current and efficiency when impurity
concentration approaches.
Biwole [10] investigated solar panels performance by using
phase change material (PCM) [11] to maintain the temperature
of photovoltaic panel. In this paper author observe the compu-
tational fluid dynamics modeling of heat and mass transfers in
a system of an impure phase change material suitable in the
back surface of a solar panel. Presented paper analysed the
results which shows the combination of solar panel and phase
change material allowed to maintain the panels temperature
under 40 ◦ C during 80 m of constant exposure to a radiation
of 1000 W/m2 .
Atkin and Farid [12] studied the use of phase change
material (PCM) infused graphite with an external finned heat
sink is viable as a method of PV thermal regulation [13]. In
this paper four different thermal techniques are used. These
four cases are: (i) Case A, the photovoltaic panel with no
thermal regulation, (ii) Case B, the photovoltaic panel with
30 mm thick phase change material infused graphite attached
to the back surface, (iii) Case C, the photovoltaic with a
finned heat sink attached to the back surface and (iv) Case
D, the photovoltaic panel with a combination of phase change
material infused graphite and finned heat sink. All the four
thermal regulation techniques are very efficient but case D is
more useful and very effective to increasing overall efficiency
of the photovoltaic panel up to 12.9%.
Indartono [14] studied the, thickness of aluminum
rectangular-tube containing phase change material oil is varied
which is placed backside of the PV. The experimental study
was done to evaluate the effect of tube thickness to the tem-
perature reduction of the photovoltaic. Thickness of the phase
change material greatly affects the inhibition of temperature
rise of the photovoltaic surface. In this paper result shows
the 102 mm PCM thickness, output power and efficiency of
the photovoltaic are higher than the reference, i.e. 23.8% and
2.1%, respectively [15].
Kolhe, Joshi and Kothari [16] performed performance
analysis of a directly coupled PV-powered dc permanent-
magnet (PM) motor coupled with a centrifugal pump and
1502
corresponding cell temperature. They discussed the compar-
ison between manual tracking of the tilt angle and fixed tilted
angle. They observed that the manual tracking (i.e. changing
the orientation of the PV array, three times in a day to keep
the arrays facing the sun) gives the output of 20% more as
compared to the fixed tilted photovoltaic array.
Abdolzadeh and Ameri [17] studied improving the effi-
ciency of PV cell by using water pumping system over the
photovoltaic panel [18] Water is sprayed over the cells auto-
matically, for which a solenoid valve and microcontroller unit
is used. By using this technique they get the total efficiency
3.26%, 1.40% and 1.35%, respectively, at 16 m head, they
achieved the mean PV cell efficiency by 12.5% during the
test day.
Tang et al. [19] suggested two new cooling methods based
on the novel micro heat pipe array [20] in this method
both air-cooling and water-cooling conditions under nature
convection condition takes place. The results indicate that
under cooling condition, the temperature can be reduced, to
effectively and increase the photoelectric conversion efficiency
of solar panel. In this paper output analyzed in to condition,
the first case air cooling temperature reduces maximally by
4.7, the output power increases maximally by 8.4%, and
the efficiency difference is 2.6% when compared with the
ordinary temperature. And in the second case water cooling
the temperature reduces maximally by 8, the output power
increases maximally by 13.9% and the efficiency difference
is 3%. The maximum efficiency of 13.5% can be achieved
Compared with the ordinary solar panel.
Abdelrahman, M. [21] tested the improvement of efficiency
output of PV module by applying three techniques namely
back water cooling, film water cooling and combining film-
back water cooling. The results showed that output power of
the photovoltaic solar cell increased up to 29.8%, 22% and
35% for back water cooling, film cooling and combined film
back cooling module. It was concluded that combined back
and front cooling system gives the best results for increasing
the output power from photovoltaic module [22] as compared
to other cooling techniques.
Moharram [23] presented a novel water spray cooling
system on the photovoltaic cell, and used two new models, one
is heating rate model and cooling rate model. On the basis of
these two models, it was established that highest output energy
is achieved if cooling of the panel starts when the temperature
of the PV panels reaches a maximum allowable temperature
(MAT) of 45 ◦ C. The MAT is a compromise temperature
between the output energy from the PV panels and the energy
needed for cooling [24].
Kuo and Lo [1] studied the combined application of the
photovoltaic and thermal technologies by using the circulating
cold water to absorbed the heat in the photovoltaic and
improve the power capacity [25] of the photovoltaic by 2%–
15% and also improved the generation efficiency of the PV
cell by 2.29%–3.37%. Through this technology they found the
total energy of the system can be improved by the 37%–59%
including the energy consumption of the cooling system [26].
 This full-text paper was peer-reviewed and accepted to be presented at the IEEE WiSPNET 2017 conference.
Benghanem et al. [27] determined the effect of pumping
head on photovoltaic water pumping system. It was tested for
four different pumping head 50 m, 60 m, 70 m and 80 m, and
found the best system efficiency has been obtained for the
80 m head [28]. In this paper the model developed should be
able to know the flow rate Q for any head chosen with a best
accuracy and also increasing photovoltaic array size generally
increases flow rate and improve the system efficiency.
M. Habiballahi et al. [4] measured the effect of water
flow rate through these collectors on photovoltaic cells output
power and efficiencies of photovoltaic pumping system were
analyzed to be decreasing and the system performance de-
creases accordingly. Water flow beneath the photovoltaic pan-
els absorbs the heat generated by photovoltaic module during
the test day. This study shows water flow beneath photovoltaic
cells increases the mean photovoltaic cell efficiency, subsystem
efficiency, and total efficiency 2.04%, 4.05%, and 1.08%,
respectively, at 16 m of head and MFC = 310 L/hr [29].
Tabae et al. [2] Investigated the efficiency of the PV water
pumping system by using booster reflector and used a film of
water over a Photovoltaic cell [30] The average output power
for the Photovoltaic with a thin aluminum foil reflector and
water film is 77.6 W. By the using of the booster reflector
improve the efficiency of 50% in power generation and keep
the temperature of the PV panels at a low level by cooling PV
panels with a film of water.
Musthafa [31] studied a different type of arrangement of
the backside of the photovoltaic cell a called a novel sponge
arrangement using water as a coolant. In this paper author has
focused on electrical conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic
panel with cooling and photovoltaic panel without cooling at
optimum flow rate. The study indicates an increase in output
power of the photovoltaic solar panel with cooling maximally
by 6.4% and averagely by 4.3% as compare to ordinary one.
And the efficiency increase by 2.69% and averagely by 0.39%
with the ordinary system.
Gotmare, Borkar and Hatwar studied the utilization of the
fins at the backside of the PV panel for the cooling purpose.
And found reduction in temperature significantly due to fin
cooling system and increase the output by 5.5% under natural
convection [32].
Catalin et al. presented a new approach of the reduction of
temperature of the photovoltaic module by using the air cooled
heat sinks. The cooling efficiency was studied for different
experimental setup of the heat sink, obtained by modifying
the angle between the base plate and ribs. When we using
a heat sink, even for small heights of the ribs, the average
temperature of the PV panel is decreased [33]. According to
result, the temperature is reduced at least 10 ◦ C. Maximum
power produced by photovoltaic module is from 6.97% to
7.55% comparing to the base case for angles of the ribs from
90 ◦ C to 45 ◦ C respectively [34].
Benlarbi [35] applied fuzzy optimization technique to get
a maximization of the global efficiency. The proposed fuzzy
controller gives a highly online accurate tracking of the
optimum global efficiency operating point [36]. The obtained
1503
simulation results have shown the good result of the proposed
controller in terms of global efficiency optimization of the
photovoltaic water pumping system.
Najafi and Woodbury [37] investigate a novel cooling
method by using Peltier effect, a thermoelectric cooling mod-
ule is considered to be attached to the back side of a single
photovoltaic cell [38]. In this paper there are two methods are
investigated to use the proposed system: in the first method, the
main aim is to control the temperature of the photovoltaic cell.
In the second method, a genetic algorithm based optimization
is applied to find the optimal value of the supplied electrical
current for the thermoelectric PV cooling module.
Khlifi [39] present the comparative study of the two differ-
ent algorithms, first one is perturb and second one is observe
method both method are based on the maximum power point
tracking. The perturb method originating from the weather
condition and the other from the perturbation of the tracking
algorithm [40]. Clearly depicts the benefits of the MPPT
algorithm which can significantly increase the efficiency of
energy production and assure better tracking performance
under different weather condition.
Mirshekarpour and Davari [41] Studied the power manage-
ment strategy for the stand alone photovoltaic based system for
water pumping system [42] using this strategy improvement in
the efficiency of the motor in light loads by using Rosenbrock
algorithm is seen. The results shows the system validate that
the mentioned system has the fast and effective response under
variation of solar irradiance levels and demonstrate that the
performance of the power management strategy is satisfying
under steady state and dynamic conditions.
Stefan Krauter et al. [43] used the front surface water
cooling technique in which a thin film of water is made to flow
over the front surface of PV module and reduce the reflection
losses by 2%–3.6%. Photovoltaic Solar cell temperature by
22% and increase electric yield by 10.3%. However when
pumping losses are accounted the increase in efficiency turns
out to be 8%–9%. The other benefits of this method are that it
clean the solar PV module from dust and improve the optics
of PV module [44].
H. Bahaidarah et al. [45] Performed the experiment on back
surface water cooling of PV module. They attached the solar
thermal collector at the rear surface of panel and investigated
that a reduction of cell temperature by 20% will increase the
photovoltaic module efficiency by 9%. It is investigated that
energy collection with the hybrid PV system is nearly four
times then PV only system [46].
Mohammed S. et al. [47] Investigated the effect of dust
deposition on the module surface experimentally. They de-
termine the effect of dust deposition density on short cir-
cuit current, fill factor and output power from solar photo-
voltaic module. They conclude that the dust accumulation
considerably deteriorates the performance of solar photovoltaic
cells. However, in carrying out the investigation on dust
effect on the solar PV module, the physical characteristic of
dust must be determined and observe the effect of dust on
module. The degree of deterioration depends on the mass
 This full-text paper was peer-reviewed and accepted to be presented at the IEEE WiSPNET 2017 conference.
of the particals per unit surface area of solar photovoltaic
module.
Erzat Erdil et al. [48] Studied the utilization of solar energy
which is transformed into heat. This unused heat is absorbed
by the water and stored as a thermal energy. In their study,
they have considered two PY panels of 0.6 m2 area each (total
1.2 m2 ) and the extracted heat from PV by water cooling
had generated 2.8 kWh of thermal energy daily. They took
standard assumptions that PV system of 10 m2 area is able
to produce electrical energy of 7 kWh/day. Which required
average energy for the typical household in the northern part
of Cyprus, The results indicate that, simple payback period of
this hybrid system is less than two years.
G. M. Tina et al. [49] Improved the optical and thermal
behavior of solar photovoltaic panel by using submerged PV
technique. In this method they observed that submerging the
PV panel to the particular depth in high temperature at good
radiation conditions would improve efficiency and optics of
solar PV module. They found that, at low latitude normally
less than 300 and at 4 cm depth in water the solar PV efficiency
will increase by 15% and reduce the reflection losses [50]
The low latitude suitable for submerged PV system because
at lower latitude the water depth is approximately uniform for
each part of PV module so solar irradiance is also uniform.
T. T. chow et al. [51] investigated the performance of
hybrid solar pV thermal system with and without glazing on
PV module. It is found that from thermal energy point of
view the glazed PV is superior to the unglazed PV module
system. Whereas, from the electrical performance perspective
the unglazed PV module is better than glazed PV panel [50].
Gao Jianaiang et al. [1] Studied about the variation of PV
template temperature with the change in flow rate of water.
They found that, with the increase in flow rate of water the
PV template temperature gets reduced. As the flow rate of
water further increases after a certain limit the PV template
temperature become constant and after that with increase in
flow rate of water the PV template temperature not decrease
further and become constant. They also investigated that for
a constant water flow rate the solar PV template temperature
reduced is more if the solar radiation is high.
Arvind Tiwari and M.S. Sodha [3] presented a thermal
model of an integrated photovoltaic solar cell and thermal solar
water/air heating system. It is found that the characteristic of
integrated photovoltaic solar cell and thermal solar system with
water as a coolant is higher than with air [52]. They found the
thermal efficiency which is around 58%.
E. Skoplakl and J.A. Palyvos [53] studied on temperature
dependence of PV solar cell and collected different relations of
PV efficiency and power output from photovoltaic solar cell.
Monto Moni et al. [54] studied on the effect of dust on
solar photovoltaic module. The inherent material property of
semiconductor material of solar cell limits the efficiency of
solar PV module by 15–20%. For PV installation process the
module efficiency further decrease by 10%–25% due to losses
in wiring inverter and module soiling (dust and debris) [55]
They investigated that with the increment in dust collection
1504
Fig. 3. A systematic view of optimization process.
over module surface the transmittance of solar radiation re-
duces which reduces the efficiency of PV module. Effect of
tilt angle is also investigated in this study and they find that
with the reduction in tilt angle causes more dust deposition on
panel surface and a reduction in power output and efficiency
of solar photovoltaic module (see Fig. 3).
Ankita Gaur et al. [56] Studied on temperature dependent
electrical efficiency and the effect of water flow on the
performance of a Si thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules. They
found that average efficiency of photovoltaic module with and
without cooling were 7.36% and 6.85% respectively.
Srikant reddy et al. [57] presented a new method to variation
all the parameter like as open circuit voltage, short circuit
current, fill factor are also important to consider in the
technical point of view and simulate the efficiency for the
power enhancement (for improving the efficiency) by using
the V-trough concentrator arrangement for a module under
consideration along with back surface cooling. This work
can be applied to small scale installed modules like street
lamp systems and solar pumping systems etc., to improve the
performance of the device and reduce the cost [58].
Abdul Hai Aalmi [59] investigated the effects of evaporative
cooling on efficiency of PV solar cell.
IV. O PTIMIZING THE C OOLING S YSTEM
Optimization is the technique of achieving the best possi-
ble result under given condition. Basically the optimization
problem consists of three parameters needed to be considered,
like objective function, a set of unknowns or variables and a
set of constraint. In the last three decades many optimization
techniques have been invented and successfully applied to the
operation and control of electric power systems. The main aim
of all such type of decisions is either to minimize efforts or
to maximize benefit.
The main aim of the optimization is
• Optimal design of electrical networks;
• Optimal scheduling, production planning and resources
allocation;
• Calculus of variations and optimal control;
Many researchers used many different techniques in dif-
ferent parameters to increase the efficiency. We are using
optimization technique to get the optimum (maximum and
minimum) water flow rate to minimize the temperature of
the photovoltaic solar cell and improve efficiency of the
system. We have different types of optimization techniques
 This full-text paper was peer-reviewed and accepted to be presented at the IEEE WiSPNET 2017 conference.
to increase efficiency. In the previously stated correlation and
simulation based methods like (Simulated annealing, Genetic
algorithms, Ant colony optimization, Convex optimization)
linear and nonlinear optimization techniques and evolutionary
search algorithms have also been applied in the design of
cooling systems.
In order to achieve our goal in controlling the elevated
temperature of photovoltaic solar cell and maintaining it at a
specific limit can be achieved by applying genetaic algorithm
based optimization which find a utilization in determing the
optimal water flow rate and increse the efficiency of PV cell
simultaneously.
V. C ONCLUSION
From above mentioned cooling techniques it is clear that
in corporating a cooling system with photovoltaics greatly
affects the efficiency of solar panel and its output. Out of
so many different techniques discussed above some of them
shows a drastic change in efficiency and is widely acceptable.
Besides adding a cooling system to the photovoltaics a major
problem still exists that how much water should be flown so as
to achieve the highest efficiency of solar panels, therefore to
overcome this problem we thought to introduce an innovative
idea of applying optimization technique in cooling system
that will help in determining the flow rates at which water
should be released so as to harvest its maximum efficiency
simultaneously this will also help in saving water wastage
during the working of solar panel.
R EFERENCES
[1] M.-T. Kuo and W.-Y. Lo, “A combination of concentrator photovoltaics
and water cooling system to improve solar energy utilization,” IEEE
Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 2818–2827,
2014.
[2] H. Tabaei and M. Ameri, “Improving the effectiveness of a photovoltaic
water pumping system by using booster reflector and cooling array
surface by a film of water,” Iranian Journal of Science and Technology.
Transactions of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 39, no. M1, p. 51, 2015.
[3] A. Tiwari and M. Sodha, “Performance evaluation of solar pv/t system:
an experimental validation,” Solar Energy, vol. 80, no. 7, pp. 751–759,
2006.
[4] M. Habiballahi, M. Ameri, and S. Mansouri, “Efficiency improvement
of photovoltaic water pumping systems by means of water flow be-
neath photovoltaic cells surface,” Journal of Solar Energy Engineering,
vol. 137, no. 4, p. 044501, 2015.
[5] S. Dubey, J. N. Sarvaiya, and B. Seshadri, “Temperature dependent
photovoltaic (pv) efficiency and its effect on pv production in the world-
a review,” Energy Procedia, vol. 33, pp. 311–321, 2013.
[6] H. Teo, P. Lee, and M. N. A. Hawlader, “An active cooling system for
photovoltaic modules,” Applied Energy, vol. 90, no. 1, pp. 309–315,
2012.
[7] A. A. Hachicha, C. Ghenai, and A. K. Hamid, “Enhancing the perfor-
mance of a photovoltaic module using different cooling methods,” World
Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal
of Environmental, Chemical, Ecological, Geological and Geophysical
Engineering, vol. 9, no. 9, pp. 1106–1109, 2015.
[8] G. Azzouzi and W. Tazibt, “Improving silicon solar cell efficiency
by using the impurity photovoltaic effect,” Energy Procedia, vol. 41,
pp. 40–49, 2013.
[9] A. Brent, V. Voller, and K. Reid, “Enthalpy-porosity technique for
modeling convection-diffusion phase change: application to the melting
of a pure metal,” Numerical Heat Transfer, Part A Applications, vol. 13,
no. 3, pp. 297–318, 1988.
1505
[10] P. H. Biwole, P. Eclache, and F. Kuznik, “Phase-change materials to
improve solar panel’s performance”, Energy and Buildings, vol. 62,
pp. 59–67, 2013.
[11] E. Cuce and P. M. Cuce, “Improving thermodynamic performance
parameters of silicon photovoltaic cells via air cooling,” International
Journal of Ambient Energy, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 193–199, 2014.
[12] P. Atkin and M. M. Farid, “Improving the efficiency of photovoltaic
cells using pcm infused graphite and aluminium fins,” Solar Energy,
vol. 114, pp. 217–228, 2015.
[13] J. Ingersoll, “Simplified calculation of solar cell temperatures in terres-
trial photovoltaic arrays,” Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, vol. 108,
no. 2, pp. 95–101, 1986.
[14] Y. Indartono, S. Prakoso, A. Suwono, I. Zaini, and B. Fernaldi,
“Simulation and experimental study on effect of phase change ma-
terial thickness to reduce temperature of photovoltaic panel,” in IOP
Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 88, no. 1.
IOP Publishing, 2015, p. 012049.
[15] W. R. Anis, R. P. Mertens, and R. J. Van Overstraeten, “Coupling of a
volumetric pump to a photovoltaic array,” Solar Cells, vol. 14, no. 1,
pp. 27–42, 1985.
[16] M. Kolhe, J. Joshi, and D. Kothari, “Performance analysis of a directly
coupled photovoltaic water-pumping system,” IEEE Transactions on
Energy Conversion, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 613–618, 2004.
[17] M. Abdolzadeh and M. Ameri, “Improving the effectiveness of a
photovoltaic water pumping system by spraying water over the front
of photovoltaic cells,” Renewable Energy, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 91–96,
2009.
[18] A. Akbarzadeh and T. Wadowski, “Heat pipe-based cooling systems for
photovoltaic cells under concentrated solar radiation,” Applied Thermal
Engineering, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 81–87, 1996.
[19] X. Tang, Z. hua Quan, and Y. hua Zhao, “Notice of retraction experi-
mental investigation of solar panel cooling by a novel micro heat pipe
array,” in Power and Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC), 2010
Asia-Pacific. IEEE, 2010, pp. 1–4.
[20] E. Radziemska, “The effect of temperature on the power drop in crys-
talline silicon solar cells,” Renewable Energy, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 1–12,
2003.
[21] M. Abdelrahman, A. Eliwa, and O. Abdellatif, “Experimental investi-
gation of different cooling methods for photovoltaic module,” in Joint
Propulsion Conferences, July, 2013, pp. 14–17.
[22] S. Dubey and G. Tiwari, “Thermal modeling of a combined system of
photovoltaic thermal (pv/t) solar water heater,” Solar Energy, vol. 82,
no. 7, pp. 602–612, 2008.
[23] K. Moharram, M. Abd-Elhady, H. Kandil, and H. El-Sherif, “Enhancing
the performance of photovoltaic panels by water cooling,” Ain Shams
Engineering Journal, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 869–877, 2013.
[24] V. Eveloy, P. Rodgers, and S. Bojanampati, “Enhancement of photo-
voltaic solar module performance for power generation in the mid-
dle east,” in Semiconductor Thermal Measurement and Management
Symposium (SEMI-THERM), 2012 28th Annual IEEE. IEEE, 2012,
pp. 87–97.
[25] E. Amer and M. Younes, “Estimating the monthly discharge of a photo-
voltaic water pumping system: model verification,” Energy Conversion
and Management, vol. 47, no. 15, pp. 2092–2102, 2006.
[26] X. Xu, M. M. Meyers, B. G. Sammakia, B. T. Murray, and C. Chen,
“Performance and reliability analysis of hybrid concentrating photo-
voltaic/thermal collectors with tree-shaped channel nets’ cooling sys-
tem,” IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging and Manufacturing
Technology, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 967–977, 2013.
[27] M. Benghanem, K. Daffallah, S. Alamri, and A. Joraid, “Effect of
pumping head on solar water pumping system,” Energy Conversion and
Management, vol. 77, pp. 334–339, 2014.
[28] S. Gorjian, B. Ghobadian, T. T. Hashjin, and A. Banakar, “Thermal
performance evaluation of a proposed point-focus solar collector for
low power applications,” Iranian Journal of Science and Technology.
Transactions of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 38, no. M1+, p. 263, 2014.
[29] L. Dorobanţu and M. O. Popescu, “Increasing the efficiency of photo-
voltaic panels through cooling water film,” UPB Sci. Bull., Series C,
vol. 75, no. 4, 2013.
[30] A. Ibrahim, M. Y. Othman, M. H. Ruslan, S. Mat, and K. Sopian,
“Recent advances in flat plate photovoltaic/thermal (pv/t) solar col-
lectors,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 15, no. 1,
pp. 352–365, 2011.
 This full-text paper was peer-reviewed and accepted to be presented at the IEEE WiSPNET 2017 conference.
[31] M. M. Musthafa, “Enhancing photoelectric conversion efficiency of
solar panel by water cooling,” Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and
Applications, vol. 5, p. 166, 2015.
[32] V. J. Fesharaki, M. Dehghani, J. J. Fesharaki, and H. Tavasoli, “The
effect of temperature on photovoltaic cell efficiency,” in Proceedings
of the 1stInternational Conference on Emerging Trends in Energy
Conservation–ETEC, Tehran, Iran, 2011, pp. 20–21.
[33] I. Altas and A. Sharaf, “A novel fuzzy logic controller for maximum
power extraction from a pv array driving a three-phase induction motor,”
in Electrotechnical Conference, 1994. Proceedings., 7th Mediterranean.
IEEE, 1994, pp. 853–856.
[34] D. Borkar, S. V. Prayagi, and J. Gotmare, “Performance evaluation of
photovoltaic solar panel using thermoelectric cooling,” Int. J. Eng. Res.,
vol. 3, no. 9, 2014.
[35] K. Benlarbi, L. Mokrani, and M. Nait-Said, “A fuzzy global efficiency
optimization of a photovoltaic water pumping system,” Solar Energy,
vol. 77, no. 2, pp. 203–216, 2004.
[36] H. Zhang, “A general approach in evaluating and optimizing thermo-
electric coolers,” International Journal of Refrigeration, vol. 33, no. 6,
pp. 1187–1196, 2010.
[37] H. Najafi and K. A. Woodbury, “Optimization of a cooling system
based on peltier effect for photovoltaic cells,” Solar Energy, vol. 91,
pp. 152–160, 2013.
[38] K. Ishaque, Z. Salam et al., “A comprehensive matlab simulink pv
system simulator with partial shading capability based on two-diode
model,” Solar Energy, vol. 85, no. 9, pp. 2217–2227, 2011.
[39] M. A. Khlifi, “Performance optimization of photovoltaic pumping sys-
tem based maximum power point tracking algorithm,” 2014.
[40] R. Gules, J. D. P. Pacheco, H. L. Hey, and J. Imhoff, “A maximum
power point tracking system with parallel connection for pv stand-alone
applications,” IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, vol. 55,
no. 7, pp. 2674–2683, 2008.
[41] B. Mirshekarpour and S. A. Davari, “Efficiency optimization and power
management in a stand-alone photovoltaic (pv) water pumping sys-
tem,” in Power Electronics and Drive Systems Technologies Conference
(PEDSTC), 2016 7th. IEEE, 2016, pp. 427–433.
[42] S. Krauter and R. Hanitsch, “The influence of the capsulation on the
efficiency of pvmodules,” Energy and the Environment: Into the 1990s,
vol. 1, p. 371, 2012.
[43] S. Krauter, “Increased electrical yield via water flow over the front of
photovoltaic panels,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 82,
no. 1, pp. 131–137, 2004.
[44] S. Odeh and M. Behnia, “Improving photovoltaic module efficiency
using water cooling,” Heat Transfer Engineering, vol. 30, no. 6,
pp. 499–505, 2009.
[45] H. Bahaidarah, A. Subhan, P. Gandhidasan, and S. Rehman,
“Performance evaluation of a pv (photovoltaic) module by back surface
water cooling for hot climatic conditions,” Energy, vol. 59, pp. 445–453,
2013.
1506
[46] D. L. King, J. A. Kratochvil, and W. E. Boyson, “Temperature coef-
ficients for pv modules and arrays: measurement methods, difficulties,
and results,” in Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1997., Conference
Record of the Twenty-Sixth IEEE. IEEE, 1997, pp. 1183–1186.
[47] M. S. El-Shobokshy and F. M. Hussein, “Degradation of photovoltaic
cell performance due to dust deposition on to its surface”, Renewable
Energy, vol. 3, no. 6–7, pp. 585–590, 1993.
[48] E. Erdil, M. Ilkan, and F. Egelioglu, “An experimental study on
energy generation with a photovoltaic (pv)–solar thermal hybrid system,”
Energy, vol. 33, no. 8, pp. 1241–1245, 2008.
[49] G. Tina, M. Rosa-Clot, P. Rosa-Clot, and P. Scandura, “Optical and
thermal behavior of submerged photovoltaic solar panel: Sp2,” Energy,
vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 17–26, 2012.
[50] H. A. Zondag, D. D. De Vries, W. Van Helden, R. Van Zolingen, and
A. Van Steenhoven, “The thermal and electrical yield of a pv-thermal
collector,” Solar energy, vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 113–128, 2002.
[51] T. T. Chow, G. Pei, K. Fong, Z. Lin, A. Chan, and J. Ji, “Energy and
exergy analysis of photovoltaic–thermal collector with and without glass
cover,” Applied Energy, vol. 86, no. 3, pp. 310–316, 2009.
[52] P. Denholm, E. Drury, R. Margolis, and M. Mehos, “Solar energy:
The largest energy resource,” Generating Electricity in a Carbon-
Constrained World, F. P. Sioshansi, ed., California: Academic Press,
pp. 271–302, 2010.
[53] E. Skoplaki and J. Palyvos, “On the temperature dependence of pho-
tovoltaic module electrical performance: A review of efficiency/power
correlations,” Solar Energy, vol. 83, no. 5, pp. 614–624, 2009.
[54] M. Mani and R. Pillai, “Impact of dust on solar photovoltaic (pv) perfor-
mance: Research status, challenges and recommendations,” Renewable
and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 14, no. 9, pp. 3124–3131, 2010.
[55] G. Tiwari, R. Mishra, and S. Solanki, “Photovoltaic modules and their
applications: a review on thermal modelling,” Applied Energy, vol. 88,
no. 7, pp. 2287–2304, 2011.
[56] A. Gaur and G. Tiwari, “Performance of a-si thin film pv modules with
and without water flow: An experimental validation”, Applied Energy,
vol. 128, pp. 184–191, 2014.
[57] S. Reddy, S. N. Raju, B. Panigrahi, S. Krishna, L. K. Panwar, and
R. Kumar, “V-trough concentrator with back surface cooling for rooftop
photovoltaic system,” in Computational Intelligence & Communication
Technology (CICT), 2016 Second International Conference on. IEEE,
2016, pp. 356–361.
[58] S. Reddy, S. N. R. Ch, L. K. Panwar, S. Krishna, B. Panigrahi, and
R. Kumar, “Experimental analysis of parameter variation and power
enhancement of concentrated pv module,” in Electrical, Electronics
and Computer Science (SCEECS), 2016 IEEE Students’ Conference on.
IEEE, 2016, pp. 1–6.
[59] A. H. Alami, “Effects of evaporative cooling on efficiency of pho-
tovoltaic modules,” Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 77,
pp. 668–679, 2014.