Cooling the solar elements via thermoelectric element

An increase in solar cell (SC) temperature due to high levels of solar radiation can affect photovoltaic module (PY) efficiency and lifetime. In this study, an experimental analysis was conducted to study the reduction of the operating temperature of SCs with a Thermoelectric (TE) system. A new experimental device was developed and a TE was attached to the back of the SC. In order to cool SCs of different sizes using TE, the temperature at different points of the SC surface at different values of the current and voltage applied to it was measured using a thermal imager. The results showed that the operating temperature of the SC with sizes from 1 cm2 to 27 cm2 attached to the TE with a size of 16 cm2 decreased significantly, while its electrical capacity increased. In the experiment, the temperature of SCs was reduced to 15 °C on average. When the surface area of SC is larger by 27 cm2, its temperature is reduced by 10 °C, but at the same time, the external electric power supplied to TE is increased by 25%. It can be concluded that the size of SCs should not exceed 27 cm2 in order to cool SCs with the help of TE; otherwise, such a cooling method is economically ineffective.