Numerical study of cooling a photovoltaic panel with the addition of a phase change material.

The efficiency of solar panels is affected by high temperatures that exceed the standard operating temperature which is 25 degrees Celsius. The use of phase-changing materials is one of various methods for lowering cell temperature. However because , heat transfer studies including PCM and PV panels are extremely difficult to conduct, The study was conducted using energy relations and heat transfer principles by the numerical simulation program (COMSOL Multiphysics 5.5) to select the best model for its manufacture and conduct experiments on it this paper provides a thorough examination of how heat transfer of PV panels in combination with PCM works Through a study conducted in the city of Najaf in Iraq With temperatures reaching up to 65 degrees Celsius , The results of this study pointed out that the PV-PCM units allow achieving higher performances in comparison with a conventional PV module, especially during the hottest months. the efficiency of the photovoltaic panel, it is inversely proportional to the increase in temperature. Therefore, the efficiency increases in the presence of the phase-changing material, where it reaches (14 %) at the peak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]