Page 480 - AWSAR 2.0

456 || AWSAR Awarded Popular Science Stories - 2019
How can my past research help in keeping panels cool? The problem definition was clear, and I decided to meet the Research and Development Head of ACME Solar, Gurgaon, to discuss this key upcoming issue.
The discussion with him was fruitful. He shared that high panel temperature was the main pinch of solar parks throughout the country, and if we could build a low power consumption cooling mechanism, which could even enhance output efficiency (η) by 0.1%, it would be of great help. With this objective, we started to Fig. out a methodology that could help in maintaining panel temperature. We analysed that the increase in temperature of the solar module was due to exacerbated solar radiation absorption as heat, which impacted solar PVC performance metrics and material parameters. This accounted for the contemplation of the smart solar energy system (SES) that not only generated
electricity but also kept the
panel cool so that output
efficiency and panel life were
not impacted. The temperature
variation in sun irradiance
affecting the panel output
efficiency can be observed
on a daily hour’s basis, and
for this, a four-way strategy
was needed – (i) pre-data
analysis to set up a correlation
in terms of optimum yield and
various parameters; (ii) design
accession to work on solar PVC
cooling and overall enhancement of output power conversion efficiency; (iii) optimization of controller design to control temperature; and (iv) Internet of Things (IoT) automation setup to comprehend fast and accurate automatic temperature control of SES.
Heading with this thought, we started working on the data modelling of JA Solar,
JAP6 (DG) 60–235 PV module driving a load of Enphase, IQ6-60-x-240 grid inverter placed at J.C Bose University of Science and Technology; location: Faridabad, Haryana; latitude: 28.45; longitude: 77.35 using the commercial software program PVsyst v6.74. The PVsyst v6.74 simulation software was used to estimate the performance of the solar module. The software data was synchronized with the metrological data so that the correlation equation that calculated how the temperatures affected solar panel efficiency could be set up. The data acquired from software was considered as an accurate prediction of the output system yield on hourly simulation of each day. The result exhibited low output power efficiency in the months of May, June and July. Undoubtedly, the solar panel at Faridabad, Haryana, is exposed to high irradiation intensity and high atmospheric heat during these months. Further, the data
analysis exhibited January and December months with the lowest irradiance and better power conversion efficiency.
This called for a cooling mechanism to lower down panels’ temperature. Considering the need of low power consumption, circuit accuracy and practical feasibility, the cooling mechanism design constituted heat sink and fan controlled by a temperature sensor mounted on solar PV. This setup was
tested considering the results of data analysis for optimum production. The approximate drop by 2°C in the temperature was observed; it was > 25°C (25°C is considered to be the ideal temperature for the solar panel under standard test conditions). The increase in output, η, of solar PV, with respect to the PVsyst prediction model, after reducing power consumption was
The solar generation capacity in India has expanded eight times in the last 5 years, with Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh being the top states with the largest solar parks.