A novel uniform evaporative cooling application for enhancing the performance of photovoltaic modules

Photovoltaic modules suffer efficiency losses at high operating cell temperatures; therefore, practical, effective, and cost-efficient cooling techniques are required. Evaporative cooling is an effective strategy for restoring the power output of photovoltaic systems in hot and arid climates. In this study, water was uniformly applied to cotton wicks attached to the rear surface of a photovoltaic module to enhance its electrical performance. The study investigates the applicability of cotton wicks as a porous cooling medium and examines the effect of different spraying durations in terms of both energy and water efficiency. The uniform temperature distribution across the PV module was verified through thermocouple measurements and thermal camera imaging. Water spraying at 30- and 60-minute intervals resulted in average surface temperature reductions of 17.55 °C (27.2%) and 9.42 °C (14.2%), respectively. These reductions corresponded to relative electrical efficiency improvements of 8.90% and 5.47% for the 30- and 60-minute intervals, respectively. Furthermore, this work introduces the Specific Energy Gain metric to assess cooling effectiveness. The proposed cooling system represents a practical and effective approach for improving the electrical performance of photovoltaic systems, while being economical, requiring low water consumption, and remaining effective for operational periods of up to 1 hour.