Electro-Thermal Modeling of an Evaporatively Cooled Photovoltaic System

Abstract

High operating temperatures significantly reduce the electrical performance and efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) panels, particularly in hot desert environments where intense solar irradiance is accompanied by elevated ambient temperatures. This paper presents an integrated electro-thermal MATLAB/Simulink model to investigate the performance of a photovoltaic (PV) panel equipped with an active water-cooling system incorporating an evaporative cooling unit. The proposed model combines the electrical behaviour of the PV panel with its thermal characteristics to evaluate the interaction between heat accumulation, cooling performance, and power generation under realistic operating conditions. Actual meteorological data from Atbara, Sudan, were used to assess the system throughout a complete daytime operating cycle. Simulation results show that the proposed cooling system reduced the PV panel operating temperature by approximately 23 °C during peak solar irradiance, resulting in a significant enhancement in electrical performance. The electrical efficiency increased from 11.73% to 16.88%, corresponding to a relative improvement of approximately 44%. These findings demonstrate that evaporative water cooling provides an effective thermal management strategy for improving the performance of photovoltaic systems operating in hot and arid climates. The proposed simulation framework also offers a practical tool for the design and optimization of advanced PV cooling systems prior to experimental implementation.