Global analysis of photovoltaic energy output enhanced by phase change material cooling

• Phase change materials (PCMs) can passively cool PV panels to increase energy output.
• A global numerical analysis of PV energy output with PCM cooling is presented.
• The most promising locations for PCM cooling are in the tropics.
• A relative performance improvement of over 6% is possible in some regions.
• A sub-optimal PCM melting temperature still produces a beneficial energy output enhancement.

This paper describes a global analysis to determine the increase in annual energy output attained by a PV system with an integrated phase change material (PCM) layer. The PCM acts as a heat sink and limits the peak temperature of the PV cell thereby increasing efficiency. The simulation uses a one-dimensional energy balance model with ambient temperature, irradiance and wind speed extracted from ERA-Interim reanalysis climate data over a 1.5° longitude ×× 1.5° latitude global grid. The effect of varying the PCM melting temperature from 0 °C to 50 °C was investigated to identify the optimal melting temperature at each grid location. PCM-enhanced cooling is most beneficial in regions with high insolation and little intra-annual variability in climate. When using the optimal PCM melting temperature, the annual PV energy output increases by over 6% in Mexico and eastern Africa, and over 5% in many locations such as Central and South America, much of Africa, Arabia, Southern Asia and the Indonesian archipelago. In Europe, the energy output enhancement varies between 2% and nearly 5%. In general, high average ambient temperatures correlate with higher optimal PCM melting temperatures. The sensitivity to PCM melting temperature was further investigated at locations where large solar PV arrays currently exist or are planned to be constructed. Significant improvements in performance are possible even when a sub-optimal PCM melting temperature is used. A brief economic assessment based on typical material costs and energy prices shows that PCM cooling is not currently cost-effective for single-junction PV.