Experimental investigation and exergy analysis of a high concentrating photovoltaic system integrated with spray cooling

Abstract

A high concentration photovoltaic/thermal system (HCPV/T) coupled with a spray cooling device is proposed in this study, which can effectively reduce the contact thermal resistance between the solar cell and the heat exchanger. Electrical analysis of solar cells and thermal analysis of spray cooling heat exchangers are firstly investigated through experiments and simulations. Compared with the traditional cooling method, the spray cooling is covered in the form of a surface for cooling, which can improve the temperature uniformity of the solar cell. To evaluate the performance of the new system from the perspective of energy quality, an exergy analysis method suitable for HCPV/T systems utilizing high pressure is proposed. The performance of the hybrid HCPV/T system is compared with the independent HCPV system. The result shows that the electrical efficiency of the hybrid system can not only remain above 27%, but also the thermal efficiency of the system can reach above 45%. In addition, under high temperature inlet conditions, a suitable outlet temperature can be obtained, the energy quality of the system can be improved, and the total exergy efficiency can reach 34%. These findings greatly expand HCPV/T systems to achieve higher performance.