A photovoltaic (PV) module’s electrical efficiency depends on the operating temperature of the cell. Electrical efficiency reduces with increasing PV module temperature which is one of the drawbacks of this technology. This is due to the negative temperature coefficient of a PV module which decreases its voltage significantly while the current increases slightly. This study combines both active and passive cooling mechanisms to improve the electrical output of a PV module. A heat sink made up of aluminum fins and an ultrasonic humidifier were used to cool the panel. The ultrasonic humidifier was used to generate a humid environment at the rear side of the PV module. The cooling process in the study was able to reduce the temperature of the panel averagely by 14.61 °C. This reduction led to a 6.8% improvement in the electrical efficiency of the module. The average power of 12.23 W was recorded for the cooled panel against 10.87 W for the referenced module. In terms of water consumption, a total of 1.5 L was approximately consumed during the whole experimental process due to evaporation. In effect, the proposed cooling approach was demonstrated as effective.

As is already known, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is a widely accepted technology for power generation worldwide. However, it is scientifically proven that its power output decreases with an increase in the temperature of the PV module. Such an important issue is controlled by adopting a number of cooling mechanisms for the PV module. The present experimental study assesses the effect of a fanless CPU heat pipe on the performance of a PV module. The experiment was conducted in June in real weather conditions in Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation. The comparative analysis of two PV panels (i.e., cooled, and uncooled) based on the electrical energy, exergy performance, economic, embodied energy and energy payback (5E) for the two systems is presented and discussed. The key results from the study are that the average temperature reduction from the cooling process is 6.72 °C. The average power for the cooled panel is 11.39 W against 9.73 W for the uncooled PV panel; this represents an increase of 1.66 W for the cooled module. Moreover, the average improvements in the electrical efficiency, and embodied energy recorded for a cooled PV panel 2.98%, and 438.52 kWh, respectively. Furthermore, the calculations of the levelized cost of energy (LCE) for the cooled PV panel indicate that it can range from 0.277–0.964 USD/kWh, while that for the uncooled PV panel also ranges from 0.205–0.698 USD/kWh based on the number of days of operation of the plant.

The electrical performance of a photovoltaic (PV) module is hugely affected by its temperature. This study proposed a passive cooling mechanism for the cooling of a PV panel. The proposed cooling system is made up of a combination of aluminum fins and paraffin wax integrated at the PV panel’s rear side. The average temperature for the cooled panel for the entire period of the experiment is 36.62 °C against 48.75 °C for the referenced PV module. This represents an average reduction of 12.13 °C for the cooled panel. The average power for the cooled panel is 12.19 W against 10.95 W for the referenced module which is 11.33% improvement. The electrical efficiencies for the cooled panel and the referenced modules are 14.30% and 13.60%, respectively, representing an improvement of 5.15% in the electrical efficiency. The cooled solar PV module had an average exergy efficiency of 7.99% compared to 5.61% for the referenced module. In terms of the economics, the results from the computations show that LCOE of the cooled panel can range between 0.198 and 0.603 $/kWh, while that of the referenced module ranges from 0.221–0.671 $/kWh depending on the number of days it operates.