Numerical study of the effect of a new cooling method using twisted tape with water on the performance of photovoltaic

Photovoltaic (PV) panels are commonly used for solar energy conversion; however, the performance of PV panels decreases significantly because of overheating. This study presents a new method of PV cooling that uses twisted tape in water-cooled channels to enhance heat transfer. A computational study was performed to analyse how several parameters influence the twisted tape pitch, single and double V-cut depths (7.5 mm), and the cross-sectional shape of channels (rectangular and circular) on the performance of a solar PV under various flow rates (Reynolds number of 50–300) and radiation intensities while starting from a coolant temperature of 20 °C. It was found that the use of the twisted tape reduced the cell temperature from 31.70 °C to 27.83 °C, and electrical efficiency increased from 11.68 % to 11.84 %. The optimized design reduced the cell’s temperature by 4.823 °C compared to the smooth channel.