Malaysian researchers develop cooling solar panels with bio-inspired coconut fiber

Scientists at Universiti Malaysia Pahang have developed an innovative passive cooling method for solar modules that employ moist coconut fiber as a cooling agent. The solution, which uses bio-inspired coconut fiber for thermal regulation, can be used in various solar applications, including building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) rooftop systems, ground-mounted plants, and agrivoltaics. The cooling system consists of a moist coconut pith encapsulated in a polyurethane sheet that is placed on the back surface of a PV module to function as a heat sink.

The researchers conducted a study to compare the performance of a PV module equipped with the new cooling system to that of a photovoltaic-thermal module (PVT) with water-based cooling and a reference PV panel without cooling. The passively cooled PV module had a maximum operational temperature of 44.6°C, which was notably lower than the PVT panel's temperature of 47.8°C and the reference PV panel's temperature of 57.2°C. The passively cooled PV module experienced a 65.26% increase in power output.