Experimental study on energy and exergy assessments of a new PV system with a concave cover for active cooling and self-cleaning

Sandstorms and the spread of dust are problems in semi-arid and arid desert regions. The performance of the photovoltaic cells is lowered as a result of dust buildup on their front side and overheating. Through the use of a combined cooling and self-cleaning technique, the overall performance of a solar panel is improved in this experimental study. As a result, the solar panel receives four upgrades: a concave cover, mirrors, constant flow water cooling, and natural flow air cooling. For this purpose, a transparent concave cover is applied to the front side of the photovoltaic cells to allow the greatest amount of solar radiation to pass through while preventing the accumulation of dust on this face. The front face is cooled with water at a constant flow of 0.0042 kg/s and cooled by air to pass between the front face of the solar cell and the concave cover with a natural flow. Mirrors are positioned on the right and left sides to increase solar radiation. The modified PV solar panel module (PV-M) and conventional solar panel module (PV-C) are contrasted in terms of their operating temperature, current, and output voltage. According to the experimental findings, PV-M had a 24.11% increase in electrical efficiency over PV-C under the same operating conditions and at maximum solar radiation. With a 76.51% improvement, the overall average energy efficiency of PV-C and PV-M was calculated to be 23.63 and 41.71%, respectively. in comparison, the average exergy efficiency was about 25.04%.