Mathematical Approach for Optimizing Heat Sink for Cooling of Solar PV Module

The temperature dependency of electrical performance of PV modules has led to an increase in research and development of adequate cooling mechanisms to lower the temperature coefficient of modules on small as well as the large scale. A significant number of cooling techniques available today are being studied and further developed for proper use in PV systems. While deciding the suitable cooling technique for system, the proper design is necessary to limit the effect of auxiliary equipment on the overall economics of the system. This paper discusses a mathematical approach for designing an optimum heat sink for maximum heat transfer from the PV module for achieving performance enhancement of solar PV module for natural convective cooling condition. A thermal analysis has been conducted in ANSYS for the obtained dimensions of heat sink.