Investigation on Extraction of Waste Thermal Energy From Solar PV Panels

The temperature of PV modules increases when it absorbs solar radiation, causing decrease in its efficiency Because of negative temperature coefficient. The Efficiency drops with the rise in temperature, with a magnitude of approximately 0.5 % per °C [6]. This present paper gives the possibilities of extraction of waste thermal energy from the solar panel to maintain its efficiency and to obtain hot water as by product. The extracted heat can be used for many domestic applications. The outlet water temperature is observed with significant rise in temperature. Experiment was performed on test model of 0.12m2 area of solar cells and similar results can be predicted for full scale model.