Performance and effect of water-cooling on a microgeneration system of photovoltaic solar energy in Paraná, Brazil

Excess heat on photovoltaic panels can limit their efficiency owning to an increase in internal resistance and consequent energy losses. This work aims to evaluate the effect of a water-cooling sprinkler system underneath polycrystalline photovoltaic modules. Voltage, current, power, and efficiency were monitored to quantify system performance. Three periods of analysis were defined. The first had intermittent cooling, the second had no cooling and the third had continuous cooling in the hottest hours of the day. The analysis occurred at two levels of irradiation - high and low. The use of the cooling system at a high level of irradiation resulted in a 12.26% relative increase in power and a 12.17% relative increase in efficiency. At a low irradiation level, the relative power and efficiency increased by 8.48% and 9.09%, respectively. The cooling system had a significant effect on the power and efficiency of the studied photovoltaic panel.