Research Progress of Thermal Management System for Solar Cells Based on Heat Pipe Technology

Abstract

1.The temperature effect and thermal management of solar cells
2. Common thermal management technologies for solar cells
-2.1 Traditional Cooling Technology (Air Cooling technology)
-2.2 New Cooling Technology (Microchannel Cooling Technology)
3 Thermal management of solar cells based on heat pipe technology
4 Conclusion

Abstract

In recent years, solar cells have witnessed rapid advancements toward higher heat flux density and enhanced performance. Under high – intensity illumination and high – current conditions, elevated temperatures in solar cells can degrade their optoelectronic efficiency and reduce service life, highlighting the critical need for efficient thermal management systems to safeguard operational safety and stability.

This paper systematically reviews recent progress in solar cell thermal management technologies, encompassing conventional methods (e.g., air and liquid cooling), emerging solutions (e.g., microchannel and phase – change material cooling), and heat pipe – based systems. Performance evaluations focus on key metrics such as energy conversion efficiency and temperature regulation capabilities across different thermal management approaches.

Results indicate that heat pipe cooling systems offer distinct advantages in maintaining optimal operating temperatures, improving energy yield, and enabling flexible integration architectures compared to alternative technologies. These benefits position heat pipes as a promising solution for next – generation concentrating PV/T systems. Additionally, hybrid cooling strategies that combine complementary technologies are shown to further enhance thermal regulation effectiveness, offering a pathway for continued innovation in solar cell thermal management.

Summary of Thermal Management Systems for Solar Cells and Insights for Emerging Cooling Technologies

This paper provides a comprehensive summary of research on thermal management systems (TMS) for solar cells, offering actionable recommendations for the development of novel cooling technologies. The goal is to guide advancements in solar cell thermal management, addressing critical challenges in energy efficiency and sustainability.

Environmental Context and Renewable Energy Imperative

The rapid development and utilization of new technologies have accelerated the overexploitation of natural resources, exacerbating environmental issues such as the greenhouse effect and ozone layer depletion. These challenges not only threaten the living conditions of future generations but also severely constrain industrial innovation due to the drastic decline in available resources. Solar energy, with its advantages of being clean, abundant, and universally applicable, has emerged as a cornerstone of renewable energy technology development, encompassing both photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal applications.

Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology

Photovoltaic (PV) technology directly converts solar energy into usable electricity, offering a sustainable solution to global energy demands. As solar cells evolve toward higher efficiency and power density, effective thermal management has become critical to mitigate performance degradation caused by overheating under high irradiance and current conditions.

Figure 1: Global Photovoltaic (PV) Installed Capacity Trends & Forecast
The chart illustrates a remarkable growth trajectory, with global PV capacity surging from 15.7 GW in 2008 to 506 GW in 2018. This exponential increase is primarily driven by declining installation costs and robust policy incentives worldwide. An inset highlights China’s pivotal role, where annual installations reflect the nation’s dominance in the sector. With a cumulative capacity of 219.5 GW—comprising approximately one-third of the global total—China continues to lead the charge in renewable energy adoption.

1.The temperature effect and thermal management of solar cells

Currently, the laboratory conversion efficiency of concentrating solar cells has reached as high as 47.1%, while the conversion efficiency of popular monocrystalline silicon cells in the market is only 26.7%. Factors such as component type, electrical losses, and operating environment have consistently constrained the improvement of photovoltaic power generation system efficiency (Figure 2). Among these, the temperature effect is a key factor affecting photovoltaic cell performance: the system’s output power and energy conversion efficiency significantly decrease as the operating temperature of photovoltaic cells rises. Studies show that for every 1°C increase in the operating temperature of solar cells, the conversion efficiency decreases by 0.4% to 0.5%. Although the temperature effects vary across different types of solar cells, they may still hinder the efficiency improvements brought by advancements in solar cell technology and materials.

Figure 2 shows the proportion of performance losses caused by various factors in photovoltaic systems

Nishioka et al. evaluated the temperature sensitivity of the optoelectronic characteristics of solar cells. As the concentration ratio increased, the temperature on the receiving surface of the solar cell gradually rose, causing the open-circuit voltage, fill factor, and conversion efficiency to decrease with increasing temperature, while the short-circuit current slightly increased. Therefore, to ensure the high-efficiency operation of solar cells, the optimal solution is to select a reasonable thermal management system to address the temperature issues of the cells.

An ideal thermal management system for concentrating solar cells should rapidly dissipate the heat generated by the cells within a controlled economic cost, enabling them to operate within a reasonable temperature range.

Figure 3 illustrates the advantages of solar cell thermal management.
As shown in Figure 3(a), solar cells without light irradiation exhibit high conversion efficiency and operate normally at ambient temperature. Conversely, under irradiance, most of the absorbed radiant energy converts to heat, causing a significant temperature rise in the cells. Typically, when the cell temperature reaches 70°C, its electrical performance is severely impacted. For a solar cell with a temperature coefficient of -0.5%/°C, the relative reduction in conversion efficiency can be as high as 20–25%.

Figure 3(b) reveals that the temperature effect may offset efficiency improvements from current technological advancements. To mitigate this, concentrating solar cells can operate efficiently when their working temperature is controlled within 40°C, often achieved by integrating thermal management systems to regulate cell temperature.

2.Common thermal management technologies for solar cells

Research on solar cell cooling has been conducted to address issues such as temperature non-uniformity, local overheating, and rising average temperatures caused by increased concentration ratios, light intensity non-uniformity, and high heat flux density. As 散热技术 (heat dissipation technologies) and demands evolve, thermal management techniques for solar cells are categorized into traditional cooling methods (air cooling, liquid cooling) and novel cooling technologies such as microchannel cooling, jet impingement cooling, and phase-change material (PCM) cooling. This paper introduces and summarizes the applications of both traditional and novel cooling technologies in concentrating solar cells.

2.1Traditional Cooling Technologies

Air Cooling

Air cooling reduces solar cell operating temperature through natural or forced convection, where air flows over heat dissipation modules. For example, Cuce et al. installed aluminum fin heat sinks on the back of solar cells, increasing output power by 13%. Soliman et al. tested similar methods, achieving temperature reductions of 5.4% (natural convection) and 11% (forced convection), with output power increases of 8% and 16%, respectively. Bayrak et al. confirmed through outdoor measurements that fin cooling keeps cells within safe temperature ranges.

To enhance cooling efficiency, Sajjad et al. utilized exhaust air channels from air conditioning systems to improve PV module performance, achieving a 7.2% efficiency boost in cooled modules. Tripanagnostopoulos et al. modified a typical PV air-cooling system by installing thin copper plates and fins in the air flow channel, with fins proving more effective at lowering cell temperature. Elminshawy et al. pre-cooled ambient air using an earth-air heat exchanger (EAHE), reducing PV module temperature to 42°C. Al-Amri et al. conducted numerical studies on air-cooled concentrating solar cells, identifying inlet air velocity and channel width as primary factors influencing cell temperature.

Liquid Cooling

Liquid cooling transfers heat generated by solar cells to the environment via liquid working fluids. Zilli et al. used a water-cooled spray system under high irradiance, achieving relative increases of 12.26% in power and 12.17% in efficiency for polycrystalline silicon cells. Schiro et al. developed and experimentally validated a mathematical model for water-cooled battery backplanes.

Similarly, Nižetić et al. conducted experimental tests on monocrystalline PV panels under different cooling conditions, finding that the optimal cooling method involves simultaneous cooling of both the front and back surfaces of the cells. In high-temperature harsh environments, Aldossary et al. investigated the feasibility of active and passive cooling for concentrating solar cells. Passive cooling with circular and straight fin heat sinks was insufficient to maintain normal operating temperatures, while forced water convection cooling kept the cell surface temperature at approximately 60°C, achieving a conversion efficiency of 39.5%.

Tan et al. studied the performance of water-cooled multi-channel radiators for ultra-high-concentration solar cells, demonstrating that the operating temperature of the concentrating cells could be maintained below 100°C. Xin et al. used dimethyl silicone oil as a cooling liquid and employed a direct liquid immersion method to experimentally study triple-junction gallium arsenide cells under concentrating conditions. Compared to non-immersed cells, the immersion of solar cells in 1.0 mm of silicone oil increased conversion efficiency and output power to 40.572% and 20.083 W, respectively. Wang et al. proposed a novel cooling method for high-concentration solar cells—direct liquid film cooling—which can control the cell temperature below 80°C. Peng et al. added ice cooling to the backplane of solar cells and found through cost and lifecycle assessments that the system efficiency could be increased by 47%.

Compared to air cooling, liquid cooling has stronger heat transfer capabilities and significantly enhances the performance of solar cells.

Table 1 Summary of Research Achievements on Traditional Cooling Technologies Based on Solar Cell Cooling

Battery Type	Cooling Method	Test Environment	Efficiency	Temperature
pc – Si	Fin Heat Sink	$G = 200 - 800 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$	$↑ 13% (P)$	$↓ 17. 5^{\circ} C$
\multirow{2}{*}{PV cell}	Fin	\multirow{2}{*}{ $G = 500 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$ }	$↑ 8% (P)$	$↓ 5.4%$
	Fin + Heat Sink		$↑ 16% (P)$	$↓ 11%$
Pc – Si	Fin	Outdoor measurement (Elazig, Turkey)	11.55%	$45.4 2^{\circ} C$
PV module	Air – conditioning System Exhaust Air	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$	$↑ 7.2% (η)$	$↓$
pc – Si	Air Duct + TMS	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$	$↑ 4% (η)$	$↓ 4^{\circ} C$
pc – Si	Air Duct + FIN	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$	$↑ 10% (η)$	$↓ 1 0^{\circ} C$
pc – Si	EAHE + Air Channel	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$	$↑ 18.9% (P)$	$4 2^{\circ} C$
pc – Si	Water – cooled Sprinkler System	Outdoor measurement (Paraná, Brazil)	$↑ 12.26% (P)$	$3 5^{\circ} C$
\multirow{3}{*}{m – Si}	Front + Water Spray Cooling	\multirow{3}{*}{ $G = 810 - 850 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 27 - 3 0^{\circ} C$ }	$↑ 2.5% (η)$	$29. 6^{\circ} C$
	Rear + Water Spray Cooling		$↑ 3.6% (η)$	$33. 7^{\circ} C$
	Front & Rear + Water Spray Cooling		$↑ 5.9% (η)$	$24. 1^{\circ} C$
TJ cell	Straight Fins + Water (Active Cooling)	$T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$ , $CR = 500 X$ , $V = 0.01 m / s$	$↑ 39.5%$	$6 0^{\circ} C$
TJ cell	Liquid Immersion + Dimethyl Silicone Oil	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$ , $CR = 500 X$	$↑ 40.572%$	–

Table 1 lists the research achievements of applying traditional cooling technologies to solar cells. From the above research results of applying traditional cooling technologies to solar cells, it can be found that traditional cooling technologies (air cooling, liquid cooling) have the characteristics of simple structure and low cost, but they are greatly affected by the ambient temperature and have limited cooling effects. As the concentration ratio is further increased, the contradiction between the cost caused by additional power consumption (pumps, fans) and the improvement of cell performance needs to be further optimized and solved.

2.2 New cooling technology

The proposal and application of new cooling technologies originated in the field of heat dissipation for electronic devices. To ensure that electronic devices with high heat flux density and small size can operate at the ideal working temperature, new cooling technologies such as microchannels, jet impingement, and phase – change materials have been successively applied in relevant fields. Drawing on the research achievements of cooling technologies for electronic devices, the new cooling technologies applied in the field of heat dissipation for solar cells are summarized.

Masoud et al. combined microchannels with a photoelectric – thermal module, using water as a single – phase working fluid, and conducted an experimental study on the heat transfer characteristics of hybrid microchannel solar cells. The solar cells had good cooling performance, and the maximum power could be increased by more than 30%.

Similarly, Yan Suying et al. experimentally studied the influence of factors such as irradiation intensity and flow rate on its photothermal performance and output performance, and the thermal efficiency of the system was basically stable at around 35%.

Solimand et al. conducted a numerical study on cooling solar cells with microchannel cooling technology, and the performance of the system could be further optimized by adding cooling fins.

To improve the temperature uniformity on the surface of the battery, Radwan et al. carried out design optimization of the microchannel structure. Flitsanov et al. selected aluminum – based foam material for heat dissipation research on CPV, and the efficiency of solar cells was increased by 1.5%.

Similarly, Kant et al. conducted a heat transfer study on the coupling of PCM and PV panels. Salem et al. used an Al₂O₃/PCM mixture and water cooling technology to improve the performance of solar cells, and the output power was increased by 40.5%.

To solve the problem of battery heat dissipation, Bahaidarah et al. used the jet impingement cooling method, which could reduce the average temperature of the battery to 31.1 °C and increase the conversion efficiency by 82.6%. Abo – Zahhad et al. applied the jet impingement cooling technology to the concentrating solar cell power generation system and conducted a numerical study on different jet impingement structures.

Table 2 summarizes the research achievements of applying new – type cooling technologies to solar cells. From the above research achievements of new – type cooling technologies applied in the field of solar cell heat dissipation, it can be seen that new – type cooling technologies have significantly improved in heat transfer capacity, temperature uniformity, and from multiple perspectives compared with traditional cooling technologies, and have more far – reaching development prospects in the heat dissipation application of concentrating solar cells.

Battery Type	Cooling Method	Test Conditions	Efficiency	Temperature
m – Si	Microchannel + Water	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 2^{\circ} C$	$↑ 30.75% (P)$	$46.7 3^{\circ} C$
TJ cell	Microchannel + Water	$G = 850 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 0^{\circ} C$	$35% (η_{t h})$	$49. 8^{\circ} C$
Si	Microchannel + Heat Sink	$T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$ , $CR = 2 X$	$↑ 8% (η)$	$43.2 3^{\circ} C$
TJ cell	Foam Material + Water	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$	$↑ 1.5% (η)$	N/A
Si	PCM	$T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$ , $V = 4 m / s$	$↑ 5% (η)$	$↓ 6^{\circ} C$
pc – Si	Aluminum Channel + /PCM + Water	$G = 632.5 - 650.8 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 35.4 - 37. 2^{\circ} C$	$↑ 40.5% (P)$	$↓ 14. 5^{\circ} C$
PV cell	Jet Impingement + Water	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$	$↑ 82.6% (η)$	$31. 1^{\circ} C$
TJ cell	Jet Impingement + Water	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$ , $CR = 50 X$	$39.57% (η)$	$6 5^{\circ} C$

Table 2 presents a summary of the research results of the new cooling technology based on solar cell cooling

3 Thermal management of solar cells based on heat pipe technology

At present, heat pipe technology is involved in thermal control of aerospace, chips of computers and servers, and heat dissipation solutions for high – power electronic devices. As a new – type cooling method, heat pipe technology has gradually attracted attention in the field of heat dissipation application for solar cells.

According to different operating principles, heat pipes can be divided into three types: gravity heat pipes, loop heat pipes, and pulsating heat pipes. Their heat dissipation applications are complex and diverse, and the structures of heat pipes are also different. They have the characteristics of strong heat transfer capacity and good temperature uniformity. Aiming at the heat dissipation problem of solar cells, researchers have conducted relevant studies on how to effectively exert the heat dissipation advantages of heat pipes.

Akbazadeh and Wadowski conducted heat dissipation experiments on solar cells using gravity heat pipes, and it was found that the gravity heat pipe with R – 11 as the working fluid kept the surface temperature of the cells not exceeding 46 °C. Similarly, Wang et al. designed a flat – plate gravity heat pipe for heat dissipation of solar cells, and experimentally studied the effects of heat flux density, inlet temperature, and inclination angle on the cell temperature. Chen et al. designed a loop gravity heat pipe to cool solar cells, and experimentally studied the effects of different working fluids on its heat transfer performance. Cheknane et al. proposed a scheme of using a gravity heat pipe with acetone as the working fluid to cool silicon – based concentrating solar cells, which improved its operating performance under high heat flux density.

Xia Houguowei et al. adopted a flat – plate pulsating heat pipe to solve the heat dissipation problem of concentrating solar cells with high heat flux density. It was found that the optimal liquid filling rate range of the heat pipe radiator was 20% – 30%, and it could be applied to the heat dissipation of solar cells with a maximum concentration ratio of 78.57. Geng et al. carried out numerical and experimental studies on cooling high – concentration ratio concentrating solar cells with a pulsating heat pipe. To maintain the efficient operation state of the cells, sufficient cooling area should be increased as much as possible. Alizadeh et al. numerically studied the start – up and heat transfer performance of a single – loop pulsating heat pipe for cooling PV. Compared with copper fins, the pulsating heat pipe showed better heat transfer and start – up performance.

Koundinya et al. designed a finned heat pipe radiator to reduce the operating temperature of solar cells. Through experimental and numerical studies, it was found that the cell temperature could be reduced by 13.8 K. Similarly, Li Ye et al. designed and built an outdoor experimental system for dish – type concentrating photovoltaic power generation using finned heat pipes. Under the working conditions of a concentration ratio of 150 and a steam saturation temperature of 343.2 K, when the liquid filling rate was 30%, the operating temperature of the concentrating solar cells was the lowest.

Wang Jing et al. experimentally studied the photoelectric characteristics and heat dissipation characteristics of the HCPV system using a flat micro heat pipe array. Compared with the conventional HCPV module, the output power of the HCPV module cooled by the micro heat pipe can be increased by about 22%. Modjinou et al. designed and manufactured a new type of microchannel heat pipe array for the PV/T system. Through numerical and experimental studies, it is found that the output power of MHP – PV/T is significantly improved, and at the same time, it can enhance the electrical efficiency and thermal utilization efficiency of the system.

To avoid the impact of the temperature effect on the battery, Du et al. used a nano – coated heat pipe plate to cool the solar battery, and the battery temperature can be reduced to below 40 °C, and the light efficiency loss can be recovered by 50% under high – intensity solar irradiation. Similarly, Zhang et al. studied the impact of the nano – coated heat pipe on the efficiency of the solar battery, and its heat transfer capacity is ten times that of the metal plate and the traditional heat pipe.

In the cooling application of solar cells, compared with traditional cooling technologies and new – type cooling technologies (such as microchannels, jet impingement, phase – change materials, etc.), it can be seen from Table 3 that heat pipe cooling can effectively reduce the operating temperature of the cells. Without the need to avoid additional power consumption (such as pumps, fans, etc.), as a two – phase passive heat exchange device, the heat pipe cooling technology has strong heat transfer capacity. The long – distance heat transfer capacity of loop heat pipes can further promote the development of the PV/T system.

Battery Type	Cooling Method	Test Conditions	Efficiency	Temperature
N/A	Flat – plate Pulsating Heat Pipe	$T_{a} = 1 8^{\circ} C$ , $V = 1.5 m / s$ , $β = 16% - 50%$	$0.05 K / W (R)$	$6^{\circ} C (Δ T)$
N/A	Pulsating Heat Pipe	$G = 830 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 3 0^{\circ} C$ , $V = 3.2 m / s$	$17.4 (V)$	$6 4^{\circ} C$
m – Si	Pulsating Heat Pipe	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 1 8^{\circ} C$ , $β = 40%$	$↑ 18% (η)$	$16.1 K (Δ T)$
m – Si	Finned Heat Pipe	$G = 500 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 3 5^{\circ} C$	$1.878 V (U)$	$↓ 13.8 K$
TJ cell	Finned Heat Pipe	$G = 485 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 3 0^{\circ} C$ , $β = 30%$	$34.55%$	$6 3^{\circ} C$
TJ cell	Micro Heat Pipe Array	$G = 900 \pm 5 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 40.4 \pm 2^{\circ} C$ , $V = 0.22 \pm 0.03 m / s$	$↑ 22.4% (P)$	$↓ 8^{\circ} C$
c – Si	Microchannel Heat Pipe	Outdoor test (Hefei, China)	$7.6% (η)$	$3^{\circ} C (Δ T)$
a – Si	Nano – coated Heat Pipe Plate	$G = 1100 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 5^{\circ} C$ , $V = 0 - 1 m / s$	N/A	$↓ 2 2^{\circ} C$
a – Si	Nano – coated Heat Pipe Plate	$G = 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 2 0^{\circ} C$	$↑ 56% (η)$	$1 1^{\circ} C$
PV Plate	Heat Pipe Plate	$G = 400 - 1000 W / m^{2}$ , $T_{a} = 10 - 3 0^{\circ} C$	$↑ 15% (η)$	$28 - 3 3^{\circ} C$

4 Conclusion

Solar cells are rapidly developing towards high heat flux density and high performance, posing great challenges to the thermal management systems of the cells. This paper reviews the research progress in the field of solar cell heat dissipation at home and abroad, and evaluates different thermal management systems in terms of cell efficiency and operating temperature. The main conclusions are as follows:

(1) By comparing and analyzing traditional cooling technologies (air cooling, liquid cooling) and new – type cooling technologies (microchannel cooling, jet impingement cooling, etc.), it can be found that new – type cooling technologies can effectively improve the thermoelectric efficiency of cells by means of enhancing heat transfer, increasing heat dissipation area, and increasing working fluid flow rate. However, the devices are complex and the cost is higher than that of traditional cooling technologies.

(2) Heat pipe cooling technology has unique advantages over other cooling technologies in terms of controlling the operating temperature range of cells, improving performance, and installation structure, and can promote the development of future concentrating PV/T systems.

(3) The mutual coupling among cooling technologies such as air cooling, liquid cooling, microchannel, and heat pipe can further enhance the heat dissipation effect of solar cells, and it is also the development direction of advanced thermal management systems.

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Research Progress of Thermal Management System for Solar Cells Based on Heat Pipe Technology

Abstract

Summary of Thermal Management Systems for Solar Cells and Insights for Emerging Cooling Technologies