Experimental investigation of a V-trough PV concentrator integrated with a buried water heat exchanger cooling system

Concentrating photovoltaic CPV system such as V-trough is utilized to decrease the area covered by expensive solar cell by replacing the equipment with cheap optics. As a result, the cell temperature rises, leading to a deterioration in both the lifetime and the efficiency. Cooling systems are needed to keep the cell temperature within the recommended limit. This paper describes a study that evaluates the performance of a V-trough PV concentrator integrated with a buried water heat exchanger BWHE cooling system. A special test rig was constructed and tested at Port Said, Egypt. Influence of cooling water was studied within flow rates ranging from 0.01 kg/s to 0.04 kg/s. The cooling system with a BWHE successfully reduced the maximum panel surface temperature from 72.5 degrees C without cooling to 47.2 degrees C, 45.5 degrees C, 41.8 degrees C and 39.3 degrees C at water cooling flow rates of 0.01 kg/s, 0.02 kg/s, 0.03 kg/s and 0.04 kg/s, respectively. In addition, the peak generated electrical power (GEP) increased by 18.6%, 20.9%, 23.5% and 28.3% compared with that of the uncooled panel at water cooling flow rates of 0.01 kg/s, 0.02 kg/s, 0.03 kg/s and 0.04 kg/s, respectively. The electrical and thermal efficiencies increased with increasing cooling water flow rates. An economic study was performed to evaluate the unit price of power. The results showed that the relative levelized cost of energy improved by 12.20% due to the proposed cooling system, which also helped reduce the global average CO2 emissions by approximately 49,209 g CO2/summer season.