Scientists Develop Next-Gen Cooling Tech for Vertical Solar Panels

n international team of researchers has developed a novel cooling technology that significantly boosts the performance of vertical solar panels. This comes as a response to a well-known problem in the solar industry: as panels get hotter, their efficiency drops. In fact, they typically lose about 0.4% of their power production for every degree they heat up beyond 77°F. To tackle this, scientists have turned to a method known as radiative cooling.

The essence of radiative cooling lies in its ability to cool surfaces naturally, as they emit more heat than they take in, without requiring extra energy. This principle is at the heart of the new v-PV system created by the team. The system uses two strategically placed mirrors at 45-degree angles on each side of the solar panel. The front mirror, made of aluminum, reflects sunlight onto the panel while simultaneously directing surplus heat towards the sky. Meanwhile, the backside is equipped with a special reflector that helps channel heat away, preventing the panel's rear from overheating from scattered sunlight.

The research, encompassing tests both in lab settings and real-world environments in Buffalo, New York, and Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, demonstrates the system's impressive effectiveness. In the laboratory, the v-PV setup managed to lower the temperature of a solar panel by an impressive 51.08 F (10.6 C), leading to a significant boost in voltage output.

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In the New York field tests, the v-PV panels stayed cooler and performed better than traditional horizontal panels and those without the special backside mirror. They consistently achieved higher voltage outputs in real-world scenarios.

The researchers believe that this V-shaped cooling design, when paired with cutting-edge vertical bifacial solar panels, has the potential to elevate both the sustainability and efficiency of solar systems on a global scale.

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Sources:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/