Enhancing the Efficiency of 100 WP Solar Panels with the Active

Method of Circulating Cooling Water System

Gatot Setyono

, Ilham Hidayad, Siswadi, Muharom, Slamet Riyadi,

Alfi Nugroho, Navik Kholili, Wahyu Nugroho, Mochammad Muchid and Dwi Khusna

Program of Mechanical Engineering, Wijaya Putra University, Raya Benowo 1-3 Rd, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Keywords: Efficiency, Active Method, Cooling Water, 100WP Solar Panels.

Abstract: Cooling methods on solar panels have been widely developed today. The impact is detected that using water

as a cooling medium can improve the performance of solar panels. This research has developed several data

variations that will be used, including 100WP solar panels and cooling media, namely running water, and

solar panel tilt angles of 18% (B-18), 22% (B-22), and 28%. (B-18), and the time range tested is between

09.00 to 15.00 (in June-July). The results showed an optimal increase in power, efficiency, Vmp, and Imp,

respectively 8%, 9%, 2%, and 1.5%. It shows that the contribution of water cooling affects the performance

of solar panels; this water cooling is also an effective way to increase the service life of solar panels and

function as a treatment system for dust and dirt on the surface of solar panels.

1 INTRODUCTION

A modified solar panel with running water cooling is

an effort to increase the electrical output power and

thermal system in the solar panel module. Therefore,

the optimal method is used to evaluate solar panels’

power distribution and temperature from time to time

(Matias et al., 2017). Solar panels convert heat energy

into electrical energy on a stratified scale variation.

The maximum efficiency of solar panels occurs at

low temperatures. Various thermal management

designs have been recommended in the last year.

Water cooling is a method that is optimal for

managing solar panels. Solar panels utilize the flow

of water to cool cells. The cell temperature can be

maintained in a certain range to prevent a decrease in

the efficiency of sunlight that is too large and the

environmental temperature factor. The efficiency of

solar panels using cooling has increased by 52%

compared to those without cooling (Wu et al., 2020).

A cooling system on solar panels consists of

circulating water and a slight heat exchanger. The

solar panel system is applied with an active cooling

process so that these conditions can lower the

temperature from 760C to 700C. The results show

that the conversion efficiency increased above 5.5%

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9032-1171

at 760C. The same happened to the electrical

efficiency, which increased by 6.5% and the thermal

efficiency by 60% at the optimal water flow rate of 2

l/min. This innovative method confirms that the heat

released from the solar panels can have an impact on

increasing the overall output power (Hussein et al.,

2017). The cooling method in solar cells can be

applied in research to obtain thermal and electrical

energy from PV modules. Therefore, innovative

methods are needed to analyze and predict the

distribution of PV power and temperature based on

usage time. In this study, second-degree polynomial

modelling is used to determine the flow of PV panel

strength and temperature, while linear modelling

analyses the relationship between PV power and input

power. The results showed that the maximum power

loss, thermal power and electrical power were met at

ambient temperatures during the day. Therefore, the

cooling water discharge through the PV system can

affect the power characteristics and the amount of

electricity generated by the solar panels (Belyamin et

al., 2021).

This research's basic concept is how to investigate

the PV performance using circulating cooling water

experimentally. The PV cooling system is designed

using a 6.35mm diameter copper tube attached to the

side of the solar panel via a single-absorbent plate.

Setyono, G., Hidayad, I., Siswadi, ., Muharom, ., Riyadi, S., Nugroho, A., Kholili, N., Nugroho, W., Muchid, M. and Khusna, D.

Enhancing the Efﬁciency of 100 WP Solar Panels with the Active Method of Circulating Cooling Water System.

DOI: 10.5220/0012112600003680

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Advanced Engineering and Technology (ICATECH 2023), pages 157-163

ISBN: 978-989-758-663-7; ISSN: 2975-948X

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

157

The results showed that the electric current and

voltage increased by 2.4% and 3.5%, respectively.

The same thing happened at the temperature, which

decreased by 15.2%, and the electrical efficiency

increased by 6% at the water flow rate of 0.0166 kg/s

(Singh et al., 2021). In this study, we have

investigated a PV system using water cooling, and it

uses three primary parameters: maximum

temperature variation, set point temperature, and

water discharge. It will be applied to the entire surface

of the PV mode. The temperature PV will be set to a

maximum limit of 50°C with a discharge variation of

0.3 to 0.9 m3/h. The results show that the

performance of the PV system is more optimal with

water cooling. The optimal PV panel cooling

temperature is 37°C. Cooling water is reduced by

15% to 17% when circulating at that temperature, and

the PV set point temperature is very influential on the

increase in energy obtained in the system (Tashtoush

& Al-Oqool, 2018).

The increase in the operating temperature of the

PV cell results in a decrease in efficiency and

durability for a long time. Using passive and active

cooling methods is one way to reduce this. The

methods are passive heat sink, immersion, phase

change, water flow, and airflow. The study results

show that passive and active cooling media

dramatically increases PV efficiency and resistance

for all climatic conditions (Bhakre et al., 2021; Sato

& Yamada, 2019). The research presents the

performance of PV panels equipped with a cooling

process by normalizing the output power, PV

efficiency and performance ratio. The main objective

of this research is to optimize the efficiency,

performance and innovative PV cooling system. It

uses a working system from air conditioning in

offices, houses and apartments. The research

compared two PVs with the method without and with

cooling. The results showed that cooling was more

optimal than without cooling. Furthermore, the ratio

of work and efficiency showed an increase of 6% and

7%, respectively (Sajjad et al., 2019).

Solar panels convert heat energy from the sun into

electricity. However, most of the energy is not

converted to electricity, but to heat the solar panels,

so that the PV surface temperature increases and

impacts decreasing efficiency. Now, it has been many

innovations made by researchers in order to reduce

the surface heat of PV and increase its efficiency.

This research uses three cooling methods:

configuration, fluid medium, and phase change. This

research is an essential point about the fundamental

concept of PV cooling systems. The first is the

selection of coolant characteristics and their use in

certain areas, the second is the level of dirt

accumulation and the cleaning process of the heat

exchanger, which is focused on complex structures,

and the third is to optimize the efficiency of cleaning

and cooling solar panels. The fourth is the cooling

water circulation system in tropical and subtropical

climates. Researchers suggest that using the nanofluid

method is more effective in sorting solar energy on a

spatial and spectral scale so that the energy can be

utilized optimally (Zhang et al., 2020). The decrease

in solar panel efficiency is influenced by the cell

surface temperature, which increases from time to

time. This temperature increase is influenced by

sunlight absorbed by PV, not converted into heat,

resulting in a decrease in output power, performance,

efficiency, and the lifetime of solar panels. The

cooling method can propose an innovative option to

reduce the overheating and surface temperature of

PV. The results showed that the cooling method on

the PV surface could increase the output power and

efficiency (Dwivedi et al., 2020).

Solar panels are the most superior energy

converter to other systems, such as good

predictability and optimal accessibility. Although

solar panels are more desirable for producing

electricity on a small scale or off-grid scale, PV

performance depends on several substances such as

material, temperature and irradiation. Continuous

irradiation conditions impact increasing the

temperature so that the PV efficiency decreases.

Thus, there is a need for a cooling method to improve

PV performance, and there are two methods, active

and passive. The active method is oriented to the

utilization of water flow, while the passive method is

oriented to the thermal media using a heat pipe.

Therefore, the efficiency of solar panels increases

depending on the sun's intensity, the module's

operation and the cooling method (Maleki et al.,

2020; Mohamed Fathi et al., 2020). The series of

temperature reductions on the surface of the module.

The cooling system installed on the PV aims to

maintain a stable operating temperature and increase

efficiency while extending the life of the PV (Siecker

et al., 2017; Tembo et al., 2018; Zilli et al., 2018). PV

performance depends on environmental factors such

as operating temperature and solar radiation. The

increasing environmental temperature will affect the

decrease in PV efficiency, so there needs to be an

optimal innovation to reduce it. Cooling media is

essential when operating PV panels because of the

high-temperature effect. The results show that when

the operating temperature decreases, the output power

produced by PV increases; this indicates that the

cooling medium used on the PV surface is optimal for

ICATECH 2023 - International Conference on Advanced Engineering and Technology

158

performance (Irwan et al., 2015; Rakhmadanu et al.,

2019; Rathour et al., 2019).

Solar panels' efficiency currently only reaches

about twenty per cent of the total solar energy that can

be converted into electrical energy. Therefore, high-

quality solar panels are needed to get a high-

efficiency level. For this reason, the utilization of

solar radiation can be maximized using a mechanical

system oriented to the PV module. In this study, the

author tries to analyze the optimal performance of PV

capacity of 100 WP through water cooling media by

varying the angle of tilt 180, 220, and 280. Although

variation in the angle of PV tilt is a continuation of

previous research, the aim is to explore the

characteristics of solar panels. To produce optimal

performance.

2 EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

2.1 Photovoltaic Energy Systems

Photovoltaic is a technological innovation designed

to capture solar energy to convert it into electrical

energy that is greater than battery energy. Although

the SCC regulates the power that comes out of the PV,

the SCC is to control the voltage that will enter the

battery (Setyono et al., 2022). In this research, a

100WP capacity solar panel will be explored. The PV

specification data used is in table 1. When testing PV,

several parameters are taken, including temperature,

solar radiation, voltage, and electric current.

Table 1: Characteristics of the photovoltaic used.

Parameter Unit Quantity

Power

(Pmax)

Watt 100

Short CC

(Isc)

Ampere 6.0

Voltage

(Vmp)

Volt 18.2

Max. Voltage System Volt 800

Open CV

(Voc)

Volt 22.1

Current

(Imp)

Ampere 5.49

Power Tolerance % ±3

Weight Kg 8

Dimension mm 1005 x 665 x 30

Max. Series Fuse Ampere 10

2.2 Water Cooling System

Cooling water will flow to the PV surface. Figure 2

shows that the temperature sensor is set at 450C. The

control system will automatically turn on the

submersible pump at that time. Water flows from the

reservoir to the water flow sensor and the PV surface.

Hot water on the surface of the PV will be channelled

into a water trap with five traps, and the process

serves to cool water conventionally. As a result, the

water temperature will gradually decrease. The cycle

will continue following the maximum working

temperature of the PV.

Figure 1: Water cooling system.

2.3 Performance Testing Photovoltaic

The solar panels were tested from June to July on the

rooftop of the Wijaya Putra University building; the

time required for data collection ranges from 08.00 to

15.00 WIB, and the parameters produced in the test

are cooling water discharge, temperature, voltage,

electric current and output power. The tilt angle is set

in the range of 180(B-18), 220(B-22), and 280(B-28)

concerning the sun's direction. Figure 2 shows a solar

panel system with water cooling. The temperature

sensor will identify the maximum working

temperature set in the control system of 45 degrees

Celsius. Then the submersible pump circulates the

water up to the surface of the solar panel. The high

water temperature on the PV surface will then be

circulated to the water ladder. It aims to reduce the

temperature conventionally, hoping that the water

temperature will decrease up to the reservoir. This

process will take place continuously.

Enhancing the Efﬁciency of 100 WP Solar Panels with the Active Method of Circulating Cooling Water System

159

Figure 2: Performance testing photovoltaic.

3 RESULT AND DISCUSSION

The optimal cooling rate influences the increase in

PV performance. Therefore, the PV cooling process

must be set to the appropriate conditions.

Furthermore, the optimal determination of the cooling

must be under energy balance (Rakhmadanu et al.,

2019; Setyono et al., 2022). The PV surface

temperature setting before cooling is 45 degrees

Celsius, and after the cooling process is 35 degrees

Celsius. After flowing on the PV surface, the water

temperature condition must reach 350C before

entering the reservoir. The temperature of the water

passing through the surface of the solar panel is

assumed to be almost the same as the cooling

temperature. Figure 3 compares the water

temperature from the solar panel surface and the

water temperature coming out of the reservoir; the

values are 35 and 25 degrees Celsius. Observations

show that with an increase in the water flow rate, the

duration of time required to carry out the PV cooling

process will decrease. For example, if the submersible

pump is set up optimally to produce a water flow of

30 l/min, this will impact the solar panel cooling

process from a temperature of 45 to 35 degrees

Celsius within 5 minutes. It is concluded that the PV

cooling process rate is 30 0C, and the water emission

must be paused after 5 minutes. Figure 4 compares

the PV temperature with various variations over the

specified time. These observations show considerable

fluctuations in use, and without water cooling, the

graph shows that the use of cooling liquid on the

surface can reduce the working temperature of solar

panels by 28% (B-18), 26% (B-22), and 23% (B-28).

Compared to previous research, the cooling method

significantly differs from the current study.

Figure 3: Function of comparison of cooling time to water

flow rate.

Figure 4: Temperature PV comparison function to time.

The average output power for the test time from

09.00 to 15.00 is 7% for all variations of the

inclination angle. Figure 5 shows that the maximum

output power generated at 12.00 is 9% because the

sun's intensity increases, while the average output

power for the three variations of the tilt angle B-18,

B-22, and B-28 results in an 8% increase in value.

That the cooling process on the solar panel surface

from time to time can increase the optimal output

power so that this method can be used as a reference

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for future research. The efficiency of the resulting

solar panels against the test time of 09.00 to 15.00 is

2% for all variations of the angle of inclination. For

example, figure 6 shows that the maximum efficiency

at 12.00 is 16% because the sun's intensity increases,

while the average efficiency for the three variations

in the angle of inclination B-18, B-22, and B-28

results in a 9% increase in value.

Figure 5: Power output comparison function to time.

Figure 6: Efficiency comparison function against time.

The average water discharge flowing on the surface

of the solar panel for the test time from 09.00 to 15.00

is 8.5% for all variations of the inclination angle.

Figure 7 shows that the increase in maximum water

discharge produced at 12.00 is 6% due to increasing

solar intensity, while the average water discharge for

the all variations of the tilt angles B-18, B-22 and B-

28 increased in value by 9%. The increase in the

average Vmp of solar panels against the test time of

09.00 to 15.00 is 12% for all variations of the angle

of inclination. Figure 8 shows that the maximum Vmp

increase was produced at 12.00 by 2% because the

sun's intensity increased, while the average Vmp for

the three variations of the tilt angle B-18, B-22 and B-

28 resulted in a 3% increase in value. The increase in

the average Imp of solar panels against the test time

of 09.00 to 15.00 is 6% for all variations of the angle

of inclination. Figure 9 shows that the maximum Imp

increase was generated at 12.00 by 2% as the solar

intensity increased, while the average Imp for the

three variations of the tilt angle B-18, B-22 and B-28

resulted in a 1.5% increase in value.

Figure 7: Flow rate of water cooling comparison function

to time.

Figure 8: Comparison function of V

to time.

Figure 9: Comparison function of I

to time.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The cooling process on the surface of the solar panel

can impact increasing the optimal output power by

8% for all variations of tilt angel B-18, B-22 and B28.

Directly proportional to the output power, Vmp and

Imp have increased in all tilt variations. The

efficiency of solar panels has the same increase in

Enhancing the Efﬁciency of 100 WP Solar Panels with the Active Method of Circulating Cooling Water System

161

output power; this is due to the optimal cooling

process in solar panels. The cooling process on the

solar panel surface from time to time can increase the

optimal output power so that this method can be used

as a reference for future research. The effect of the

cooling process not only affects the performance of

the solar panel, but it can increase the service life

while reducing the level of maintenance of the solar

panel because the cooling process cleans the surface

of the solar panel against dust and dirt.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

As writers and researchers, we would like to express

our gratitude for the support from the Institution of

Research and Community Services, the engineering

faculty, and the Mechanical Engineering Study

Program Wijaya Putra University through the

development of this research. We hope the

community, industry, and institutions can use this

research to add information on renewable energy

technologies.

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