Harvesting atmospheric water to cool down PV panels
Scientists from Saudi Arabia have proposed a new PV panel cooling technique which employs an atmospheric water harvester. The device uses waste heat from the PV panel to collect atmospheric water at night and then releases it during the day to cool down the module. The researchers claim the device may also be improved to produce liquid water, which could be used for the cleaning of the modules.
Scientists from Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology have developed a cooling solution for photovoltaic panels that uses a sorption-based atmospheric water harvester (AWH).
The device, which can be placed on the back of commercials PV panels, collects atmospheric water during the evening and at night. The collected water is then vaporized and released during the day using waste heat from the PV panel as energy source. The evaporation of the water in turn takes away a significant portion of heat from the panel itself and lower its temperature.
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