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THERMAL SCIENCE
International Scientific Journal
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ENHANCED PERFORMANCE OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES VIA EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF NOVEL HEAT SINK DESIGNS
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the performance of photovoltaic (PV) module integration with novel designs of heat sink modules (PV/HS-I, PV/HS-II, PV/HS-III, and PV/HS-IV), introducing an optimized converging-diverging fin configuration (PV/HS-II) that demonstrates superior cooling performance under extreme desert conditions. The experimental work analyzes the impact of cooling air velocity, solar intensity, solar panel surface area, and power temperature coefficient on the PV module performance and productivity. The results demonstrate that raising the cooling air speed enhances convective cooling, lowers the temperature of the PV surface, and increases electrical efficiency and productivity, especially for the PV/HS-II design, which is the most effective design compared to other heat sink configurations. Under Jeddah’s climatic conditions, the PV/HS-II module achieves a peak electrical efficiency of 19.5% and the highest electrical energy productivity of 65.57 kW. The decrease in power temperature coefficient from –0.5 % per °C to –0.3% per °C increases electrical efficiency from 16.5%-18.65%, improving electrical energy productivity by 40%. This work provides the first comprehensive experimental evaluation of fin geometry optimization for PV cooling in high irradiance environments, offering practical design solutions for solar farms in hot climates. The study shows how crucial active cooling is for reducing efficiency losses, especially in places with a lot of sunlight, like Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It also gives valuable tips for improving the performance of photovoltaic systems.
KEYWORDS
PV electrical efficiency, innovative heat sinks, electrical energy productivity, solar intensity, power temperature coefficient
PAPER SUBMITTED: 2025-06-01
PAPER REVISED: 2025-06-28
PAPER ACCEPTED: 2025-08-05
PUBLISHED ONLINE: 2025-09-13
DOI REFERENCE: https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI250601159S
CITATION EXPORT: view in browser or download as text file
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© 2026 Society of Thermal Engineers of Serbia. Published by the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International licence