Improved thermal management of solar cells through thermal transpiration

通过热蒸腾改善太阳能电池的热管理

• 批准号: 499423-2016
• 负责人: Kleiman, Rafael
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Engage Grants Program
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=607427
• 关键词: Improved; thermal; management; solar; cells

The use of solar energy is increasingly being deployed to help meet our energy needs with a low carbon footprint. Photovoltaic cells and modules that convert sunlight directly to electricity currently achieve energy conversion efficiencies in the range of 18-20%. A small portion of the incoming energy is lost to reflected and emitted light, while the remaining energy is converted to heat and dissipated to the environment. The efficiency of conventional solar cells decreases with increasing temperature and consequently improved heat management can significantly increase cell efficiencies under standard operating conditions. Conventional solar modules are not designed with heat management as a major consideration, although some passive cooling does occur. Thermal degradation is one of the leading sources of long term module degradation and failure. By more intentional thermal management, module reliability and efficiency can both be improved, lowering energy costs and increasing the overall energy production at a system level. Working together with SyENERGY Integrated Energy Solutions, we will investigate the use of thermal transpiration - air passing through holes in the cells and modules - in order to improve the cell cooling. We will examine the optimal size and density of holes to optimize overall energy performance, using modeling techniques and experimental verification. Perforations in the solar cells raise new technical challenges regarding the cell performance and long term reliability which need to be addressed. As these questions are answered the technical solutions will be incorporated into a new product line for SyENERGY, produced in Canada, providing lower cost and more reliable clean energy.

太阳能的使用越来越多地被部署，以帮助满足我们的能源需求，同时减少碳足迹。将太阳光直接转化为电能的光伏电池和模块目前实现的能量转化效率在18- 20%的范围内。一小部分入射能量被反射和发射的光损失，而剩余的能量被转换为热量并消散到环境中。传统太阳能电池的效率随着温度的升高而降低，因此改进的热管理可以显著提高标准操作条件下的电池效率。传统的太阳能模块在设计时并没有将热管理作为主要考虑因素，尽管确实会发生一些被动冷却。热退化是长期模块退化和故障的主要来源之一。通过更有目的的热管理，可以提高模块的可靠性和效率，降低能源成本并增加系统级别的总体能源产量。与SyENERGY集成能源解决方案合作，我们将研究热蒸发的使用-空气通过电池和模块中的孔-以改善电池冷却。我们将使用建模技术和实验验证来研究孔的最佳尺寸和密度，以优化整体能量性能。太阳能电池中的穿孔提出了需要解决的关于电池性能和长期可靠性的新的技术挑战。随着这些问题的解决，这些技术解决方案将被纳入加拿大生产的SyENERGY新产品线，提供更低成本和更可靠的清洁能源。