L R AS Published on Sunday 26 April 2020 - n° 319 - Categories:R&D
Regulating the heat of a panel
Indian researchers from KPR and the National Engineering College are trying to regulate the temperature of a solar panel to prevent it from heating up and reducing its efficiency.
They took a CIS panel (made of copper, indium and selenium) and applied a layer of phase change material to it. This material consists of substances capable of storing thermal energy, allowing temperature stabilisation.
The substance used would have a high latent heat of fusion, which is chemical, non-reactive, environmentally friendly, non-toxic and inexpensive. "It is encapsulated on the back of the CIS PV panel. The encapsulation consists of eleven compartments to minimise the build-up of PCM salts on a single part".
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/04/24/lowering-pv-panel-temperature-with-phase-change-materials/
PV Magazine of April 24th