Thermal Analysis of Air-Cooled Channels of Different Sizes in Naturally Ventilated Photovoltaic Wall Panels

In practical engineering applications, natural air cooling is often utilized for photovoltaic (PV) facades. However, the natural-air-cooling method is not effective at cooling PV wall panels, and the high temperatures accumulated on the surface of PV panels not only affect the electrical efficiency and service life of the PV modules, but also increase the energy consumption of the building. In this paper, we propose the vertical installation of heat dissipation fins in naturally ventilated PV wall panels. We used ANSYS Fluent to establish the simulation model of naturally ventilated PV wall panels and validate it. By simulating the air-cooled channels in PV wall panels with different sizing parameters, the temperature and flow rate variations were comparatively analyzed in order to optimize the air-cooled-channel sizes. The results show that installing the fins vertically in the air-cooled channel provided better cooling for the PV panels and enhanced the air heat collection effect. Additionally, it improved the airflow rate in the channel. As the thickness of the finned air-cooled channel increased or the width decreased, the temperature on the surface of the PV panels showed a decreasing trend. Compared to the flat-plate air-cooled channel, the finned air-cooled channel, with a thickness of 100 mm and a width of 20 mm, decreased the peak and average temperatures of the PV-panel surface by 3.9 °C and 8.1 °C, respectively, and increased the average temperature of the air at the outlet by 11.2 °C.

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