Experimental study on the effects of air blowing and irradiance intensity on the performance of photovoltaic modules, using Central Composite Design

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) Vol. 238; p. 121633
• Main Authors: Shiravi, Amir Hossein, Firoozzadeh, Mohammad, Lotfi, Marzieh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Air blow; Air currents; Air temperature; Blowing; Central Composite Design; Design expert; Efficiency; Irradiance; Irradiation; Modules; Photovoltaic; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaics; Radiant flux density; Radiation; Renewable energy; Response surface method; Technology; Velocity; Central Composite Design; Photovoltaic; Response surface method; Air blow; Design expert
• ISSN: 0360-5442; 1873-6785
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.121633

Photovoltaic (PV) technology plays an important role in the progressing trend of using renewable energies in the world. Yet the negative impact of a cell's temperature rise on its performance is a major weakness of this technology. In this paper, the effects of both air blowing and emitted radiation are investigated experimentally in the ranges of 0–7.7 km/h and 360–840 W/m2, respectively. In this regard, using Central Composite Design (CCD), the experiment was designed and performed to evaluate the response of a PV module to both of the variables. The results show that the PV module temperature drops from 61 °C to 40 °C when radiation intensity is 840 W/m2 and air velocity is 7.7 km/h. This temperature reduction causes a 2.5 % rise in electrical efficiency. Three equations were derived in order to correlate the outcome of temperature, electrical efficiency, and output power of a PV cell, with respect to irradiation intensity and air velocity. It is realized that in order to enhance the PV module output power, the effect of air current velocity is potentially more promising than the irradiance intensity. Also, the results proves that the impact of cooling the module on electrical efficiency strongly depends on the level of irradiation intensity. •The effect of irradiation and wind blowing on a PV module performance were studied.•Using CCD, three relations were obtained as functions of radiation and air velocity.•The proposed correlations differ up to 3.1 % with the results of the other scholars.•To enhance the output power, the wind velocity is more effective than the radiation.