Experimental study on simultaneous use of phase change material and reflector to enhance the performance of photovoltaic modules

Due to the increasing demand for energy in the world and the problems caused by fossil fuels, the use of renewable energy has become the focus of governments. Therefore, the study and use of renewable energy, especially solar energy, is an essential development program for all governments. There are massive efforts to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) technology which is rapidly developing, in order to decrease the capital cost of a solar power plant. In this paper, two methods for enhancing the efficiency of PV modules are considered: using phase change material (PCM) as coolant and integrating reflectors. The experiments were performed in Dezful, Iran, with very hot summers. The results show that, using reflector boosts the received irradiation by the PV panel, but at the same time, leads to increase the PV module temperature. Therefore, using PCM in order to decrease the temperature is justified. Among different tilt angles of the mirror, 30° presents the best outcomes. Then, this case was tested with one additional mirror on top of the PV module. So, the case of double mirrors was selected and bring about 4.1 % improvement in electrical output, in comparison with the conventional one. As the next stage, this optimum case was repeated by utilizing the PV module with PCM at its back side. 12.5 % enhancement of electrical output and 24 % reduction in entropy generation were calculated, in comparison with the conventional one. •A PV module integrated with both PCM and reflector is experimentally studied.•Various mirror tilt angles are tested to find the highest output power.•Both first and second laws of thermodynamics are assessed.•The best case is the PV-PCM system with 30° tilted mirror along with a vertical one.•12.5 % enhancement in output power is seen in comparison with the conventional one.