Photovoltaic module efficiency evaluation: The case of Iraq

This study aims to evaluate the performance of a photovoltaic module under some extreme climate conditions, and with a case study for Iraq. CFD model is developed for the analysis of the photovoltaic module using the commercial CFD software of COMSOL Multiphysics v5.3a for the transient conditions. The results are verified with the analytical solution to the one-dimensional non-linear energy balance equation using Matlab. The results are also compared with measurements reported in the literature for validation. The results reveal that the free convection currents in inclined and horizontal positions of the module were weaker relative to the vertical posi-tion. Also, the increase in the length of inclined photovoltaic module, up to 1.3 m, enhances the heat transfer rate. However, beyond this length, the temperature of the module becomes higher, and the convective heat transfer coefficients are reduced regardless of the inclination. In the horizontal posi-tion, the convective heat transfer rate is lower, particularly on the bottom surface of PV system.(c) 2021 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier BV on behalf of Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

Automated summary

This study evaluates the performance of a photovoltaic module under extreme climate conditions, with a focus on a case study in Iraq. A CFD model is developed and validated using analytical solutions and measured data. The results highlight the importance of module position, length, and inclination on heat transfer performance.