Applied Energy 211 (2018) 1297–1307

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Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Demonstration project of a cooling system for existing PV power plants in T

Portugal
⁎
André F.A. Castanheiraa, João F.P. Fernandesb, , P.J. Costa Brancob
a
Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
b
IDMEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

H I G H L I G H T S

• ATheprototype of the cooling system was installed in 20 kW PV power plant in Lisbon.

• The ON/OFF cooling cycles allow the cooling of several PV strings in parallel.
• The optimal cooling cycle of 20%/80% was experimentally obtained for Lisbon.
• The start-up temperature of the cooling system was 30 °C for Lisbon and Beja.
• financial return of the system is estimated to be 2 years for Lisbon and Beja.

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Water cooling continues to be an attractive solution for mitigating thermal effects in photovoltaic (PV) panels.
Photovoltaic systems However, a technically viable and economically effective design of a cooling system for utility-scale solar power
Temperature plants already operating is still in its early developments. In this context, this work not only presents the design
Efficiency and characterization of a water cooling kit system specifically conducted for already existing and operating PV
Water-cooling system prototype
plants, but also takes into account various aspects of its potential as a commercial-scale product. One considers
not only water and energy losses in the cooling system, optimizing it for a real industrial application, but also
economic aspects as the investment cost, durability and maintenance have been taken into account. In this
specific context, the cooling kit was designed to minimize its cost and also the amount of water used. An ana-
lytical model is also presented and validated to predict the PV temperature of a cooled and non-cooled panel, all
based on meteorological data at the desired installation place. Prototyping and testing were done on a 20 kW PV
plant functioning in a roof of an industrial building in Lisbon (Portugal). Experiments showed how cooling/
heating thermal time constants of the PV panels and water ON/OFF time cycles affect PVs’ efficiency. A large
amount of test data was produced and analyzed, showing how the cooling kit can increase annual energy
production up to +12%.

1. Introduction
Different techniques or even new materials to cool and clean PV
panels are reaching its maturity. From different cooling techniques, the
water active cooling ones are those that present more increase of output
electrical power [1]. However, a knowledge gap still exists when those
solutions must be installed and operate in already existing utility-scale
solar power plants.
In this context, a water cooling kit system was designed to already
existing and operating PV plants. The results of the performance testing
of the cooling system are presented and discussed when installing in a
20 kW PV park in an industrial building. In this park, the cooling system
was mounted in 25 PV panels, reaching a peak power of 5 kW. The main
contributions are the analysis of the cooling system performance (water
and energy losses and an increase of power), already under an in-
dustrial ambient and for large-scale applications, its design (auxiliary
equipment) and operating condition optimization (water cycles), and
the economic analysis, where the technology and economic aspects
must be balanced.
With all the investments already done in photovoltaic technologies,
several PV plants were installed worldwide with a fixed maximum ca-
pacity, which typically cannot be increased without a change in the
contract or an enlarging of the power plant. In addition to this limita-
tion, the efficiency of PV cells is strongly dependent on its own

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: joao.f.p.fernandes@tecnico.ulisboa.pt (J.F.P. Fernandes).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.11.086
Received 18 August 2017; Received in revised form 19 November 2017; Accepted 20 November 2017
0306-2619/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A.F.A. Castanheira et al.
temperature, being lower at higher temperatures [2,3]. This creates a
limiting phenomenon in the energy PV production, where in days of
high solar radiation the PV energy production stagnates due to the
higher PV cells’ temperature. This effect decreases the PV plant energy
production and creates a negative economic impact.
Recent developments in the PV cooling techniques over the last four
years show that the topic is still a strong area of interest. The different
types of cooling systems can be divided into passive and active ones.
In the area of the passive cooling system, different techniques have
been developed [4–9]. The research work in [4] presents a radiative
cooling technique that uses a colorless and transparent silicon coat on
the front surface of the PV to generate thermal radiation and lower the
PV temperature. This layer is transparent for the range of solar radia-
tion wavelengths but has a high emissivity which results in significant
thermal radiation. From simulation results it is possible to estimate a
decrease in the PV operating temperature by 18.3 °C, however, these
still lacks experimental validation. In [5] is presented a passive cooling
technique using natural vapor in the back of the PV, as heat transfer
fluid. The authors suggest as a real application the installation of PV
panels in the top of rivers or canals to use the evaporation of the water
as the coolant. Using a laboratory set-up, it was verified that the PV
temperature could be reduced from around 60 °C to 40 °C, resulting in
an increase of 7.3% of electric power.
Other recently developed techniques are the use of phase change
materials (PCM) as passive coolants [6]. In [7] a simulation study was
done by introducing PCM spheres to a water storage tank that is con-
nected, by pipes, to the back surface of a PV panel. With an optimized
system, simulation results showed to be possible to obtain an increase
of 13.7% of electric power, when compared with the non-PCM case.
Different types of active cooling systems have been studied, using
fluid flow in the front [10–12] or back [13–15] of PV cells. Recently, an
approach using a water cooling system in both PV sides showed to be
possible to highly increase the electric power [16]. A 16.3% of increase
of peak power was obtained using one PV panel cooled by sprinklers on
both sides and tested under real ambient conditions in a Mediterranean
climate. This active water cooling technique presents a high potential to
be implemented, however, the optimization of the water cycles and the
economic analysis in a real application were still not addressed.
Different from [16], the research presented in [17] studied the
convective effect on the backside surface of a PV panel and respective
electrical efficiency. Authors built an experimental setup using two
panels to simulate typical Mediterranean climatic conditions. After
several tests, it was concluded that a redesign of the backside surface in
conventional PV panels could improve its thermal dissipation to in-
crease the panel average efficiency. However, none design was sug-
gested by the authors, neither an economic study for the needed
changes.
Similar to [17], a backside surface cooling system using water flow
was studied in [15] for climate conditions at Jeddah city in Saudi
Arabia. A multiphysics model integrating the electrical, thermal and
structure physics of a PV panel was used to study the PV panel per-
formance. Different from similar studies, which never approach the
evolution of mechanical stresses in the panel structure when cooled,
authors showed that the cooled panel can present one order of mag-
nitude lower stress levels than an uncooled panel. However, none la-
boratory scale experiment was even settled to validate the multiphysics
model.
Based on those latest research about the active cooling systems, one
can clearly point out key challenges that have to be addressed:
• There is still a gap between the laboratory prototypes and the real
industrial applications. Laboratory tests confirm that it is possible to
increase the electrical output of a PV panel, but the costs related to
the operating system are not considered. This is an important factor
for the future implementation of real applications.
• Optimization of the water cooling cycle must be made concerning
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Applied Energy 211 (2018) 1297–1307
not only the panel temperature decrease but also the configuration
of the hydraulic circuit to be implemented. Elements as the electric
pump and also the recently proposed water spreading systems must
be studied in a more representative way. For example, nozzles for
water spreading show critical obstructions problems when tested in
real conditions. Dust and/or dirt deposition in the panel may cause
blockage of the nozzles, augmenting the hydraulic circuit pressure
and thus the power consumed by the pump.
• Research about water cooling systems to be commercialized and
installed in existing PV power plants is a gap in this topic. In this
context, an assessment study of the interplay between technical and
economic risks is needed since these will dictate if the proposed
system becomes a viable and competitive option.
It is in this context that this paper builds on the water cooling kit
system for existing PV plants, namely those installed in Portugal, con-
sidering various aspects of its potential as a commercial-scale product.
The project was based on a prototype installed in 5 kW (25 PV panels)
of a 20 kW PV plant already operating in the industrial facility rooftop
own by our commercial partner in Lisbon, Portugal.
The novelty of this work concerns the installation of a water cooling
system for an already installed PV power plant, its adequate design for
the PV plant location and climate conditions, the optimization of the
ON/OFF water cycles (number of strings per water pump and start-up
temperature) to maximize the profit from the water cooling system and,
finally, a detailed economic study, based on the experimental results,
considering the water losses, the auxiliary system energy consumption
and other aspects related to the water cooling system operation.
The cooling system uses a front water flow with a semi-closed
looped system. I.e. uses a closed-loop water circuit where some water
losses can occur, and its ON/OFF water cycles and start-up temperature
are optimized for the minimization of costs and maximization of energy
production when installing in an already existing PV plant. To com-
plement the cooling system analysis, an analytical model was done to
provide the possibility of predicting a PV plant energy production based
on weather conditions available online, with and without the cooling
system.
The work is structured in five main sections: the Section 2 where the
concept of the system is described, Section 3 with the system im-
plementation, Section 4 where the experimental tests to the prototype
installed in a 20 kW PV plant are presented, Section 5 with the devel-
opment and validation of the analytical model, and finally in Section 6
an economic analysis and system optimization done for two regions of
Portugal, based on the analytical model and the weather condition
available from past years.
2. Concept of the water cooling system
The cooling system consists of a water cooling system to lower the
PV surface temperature, thus increasing its efficiency and using a set of
valves to optimize the water flow. The main purpose is to use a uniform
water layer to lower its surface temperature and to create a refractive
layer to decrease the solar radiation reflected by the glass (refractive
index: 1.3 to water and 1.5 to glass [10]).
The water is stored in a tank which can be at ambient temperature
or buried, to reduce the temperature of the water coming from the PV
panels. The water is pumped into to the main channel and then, using
different controlled valves, is spread to different strings of PV strings.
Using sprinklers, the water is spread along the PVs at a low pressure and
speed to create a uniform layer of water. Finally, the water is collected
at the bottom of the PV strings and is carried to the water tank, where it
is processed and cleaned. To avoid the accumulation of biofilm soiling
and debris, the system requires filters. The proposed solutions for small
plants are chlorine tablets placed in the tank, which can be acquired for
44 USD for 10 years of operation and anti-sediment filter (48 USD). In
larger plants, UV filters may also be used for larger tanks (374 USD plus
A.F.A. Castanheira et al.
lump (77 USD) and coal cartridge (20 USD)).
The main characteristics of this water cooling system concept are
based on the following:
• The reduction of the water pump fatigue:
To reduce the water pump fatigue, the pump operates at only one
speed (corresponding to the minimum water flow) and with the
minimum required start/stop operations. To achieve this, a set of
controlled valves (v1 to v5 in Fig. 1) is installed and only one operates at
one time. With this, the water pump flow remains constant.
• The optimization of the water flow:
From experimental tests, it was verified that the PV cooling thermal
constant is much higher than the heating one. Using the difference
between thermal constants, it is advantageous to use a cyclic cooling
process which cools only one string at one time, as seen in Fig. 2. With
this process, the water pump can be dimensioned by only one string,
reducing the investment and operating costs of the system.
Fig. 2. An example of pump operation with 3 strings.
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Applied Energy 211 (2018) 1297–1307
Fig. 1. Cooling system’s overall scheme.
3. Implementation of the cooling system
A prototype of the water cooling system was installed on a string of
5 kW (25 panels) of a 20 kW PV solar power plant located in Bobadela,
Lisbon, Portugal. The solar power plant consists of four 5 kW PV strings:
three strings of monocrystalline silicon PVs and one of poly-crystalline
PVs, as shown in Fig. 3. For the experimental tests, two strings of mono-
crystalline PVs were chosen, one to be the reference (string 1) and the
other to be cool with the developed prototype of the cooling system
(string 2). The mono-crystalline panels present a rated power of 190 W
and the characteristics are on Table 1. Note that the maximum power of
the panel decreases with the temperature, −0.45%/°C.
The prototype cooling system schematic is shown in Fig. 4. The PV
panels are installed on a rooftop with an inclination of 33° along the
strings array, Fig. 5.
Experimental tests were done for only one string (String 2 in Fig. 3)
with twenty-five panels, where the cooling time during which the
sprinklers are working is controlled by an electric valve. Different water
cycle ratios ON/OFF are tested to analyze the impact of the efficiency
increase and the water and electric water pump consumption. One ON/
OFF cycle corresponds to the time the panel is being cooled (ON) or not
(OFF).
A.F.A. Castanheira et al. Applied Energy 211 (2018) 1297–1307

String 2
(mono)
String 1
(mono)

String 3
(mono)
String 4
(poly) Fig. 5. Water cooling system overall.

Fig. 3. PV solar power plant installed on the rooftop of the company building.

Table 1
Temperature characteristics.

Characteristic

Nominal Operating Cell Temperature (NOTC) 45 ± 2 °C

Temperature Coefficient of Pmax −0.45%/°C
Temperature Coefficient of Voc −0.34%/°C
Temperature Coefficient of Isc 0.050%/°C

The water is stored in a 150L water tank (Fig. 6) and it is pumped Fig. 6. A pump placed in the water tank.
through a manual valve and a controlled valve into the two arrays of
PVs of string 2. The escape valve simulates the presence of other PV The major issue found in this system is related to the water losses in
strings being cooled, redirecting the water flow when the controlled form of water evaporation. In peak hours and with excessive wind
valve is closed and maintaining the water pump flow. Using sprinklers, speeds, the water evaporation losses may be significant.
the water is spread along the PVs panels with a low pressure to assure a
uniform distribution along them and to reduce the water leakage,
4. Experimental tests
Fig. 7. Finally, in Fig. 8, the water collecting system can be seen, made
of PVC gutters connected to the water tank. Due to the rooftop in-
A series of experimental tests were carried, with different ON/OFF
clination, the water flows to the tank (installed on the roof) by gravity.
cycles, to study the optimization of the cooling system and associated

Fig. 4. Schematic of the prototype water cooling system.

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Fig. 7. Sprinklers located on top of the panel.

Fig. 9. Placement of the temperature sensors in the PV panels.

Cell A
Cell B

Fig. 8. PVC gutters to collect the water and return it to the tank.

costs. The tests were performed between 9 am and 5 pm of months of

June to November. During the tests, an ambient temperature variation
between 21 and 37 °C and an irradiance between 500 and 1100 W/m2
Fig. 10. The temperature of the two cells between day 30 of July and 1 of August.
was measured.
Those tests were divided into a set of three:

1. Measurement and analysis of the temperature and power profiles

(thermal constants and reduction of power).
2. Impact analysis of the cooling system in the PV efficiency.
3. Measurement of water losses during the operating time.
IJOFF
These tests allow us to model the electrical and thermal behavior of
the PV panels, with and without the cooling system.

4.1. Temperature and power results

The temperature of two consecutive PV strings, one with the water
cooling system (string 2, Fig. 3) and other without it (string 1, Fig. 3),
were measured for different days and months. Temperatures were
measured using probes in one panel of each string placed in front of the
panels’ glass. For each panel, two temperature sensors were placed as
shown in Fig. 9. In the point A, at the top of the PV, after the water
stream is uniform; and point B in the middle of the panel. Temperature
differences between the two points were lower than 2 °C, Fig. 10. Their
average 5-min value was considered as the PV temperature.
The first set of experiments were related to the thermal constants of
the PV with the cooling system. Fig. 11 shows the PV temperature of
one ON/OFF water cycle for one day, where it is possible to calculate
the ON (with the water running) and OFF thermal constants. From the
all experimental data obtained, the average ON and OFF thermal con-
stants were 0.6 and 11 min, respectively. Therefore, being the cooling
transient faster than the heating one, one can take advantage of it to
optimize the water flow by using a cyclic cooling process, i.e., using an
intermitted water flow for different strings. The experimental tests
showed that a minimum of 2 min with the system switched ON is
Fig. 11. An example of experimental and theoretical PV temperature for an ON/OFF
cooling cycle.
required so that the panel is completely cooled (temperature of the PV
panel reaches the water temperature).
The second set of experiments is related to the influence of the
temperature in the output power of the PV strings. Experimental results
show that the reduction of the temperature is significant when using the
water cooling system and a maximum power increase of 17% was
measured during the whole experience.
As an example, for the 11th of August of 2016, the temperature
profiles for strings 1 and 2 (without and with the cooling system, re-
spectively) are shown in Fig. 12, with different ON/OFF cycles for
different hours. In this day, the temperature difference between the
cooled and non-cooled panels reach up to 22 °C. The effect of the de-
crease of temperature on the cooled string resulted in an increase of
power.
In Fig. 13 is shown the power output from the cooled and non-
cooled string, showing an increase up to 15%. Note that the largest

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Fig. 12. Experimental results for 11th August 2016.

Comparison between the cooling panel (red) and the
reference panel (black) a) temperature.

Fig. 14. Correlation between the increase of electrical efficiency and the ON/OFF cycles,
where “On Cycle” = ON/(ON + OFF) times.

time of the cooling system. For example, with this, it is possible to

expect more income for two strings with a 50% ON cycle (one string
Fig. 13. Power output comparison between the cooled string (dashed line) and the re-
being cooled at each time) than just one string with 100% of ON cycle.
ference one (continuous line), 11-August-2016. Additionally, it was verified that the influence of the wind in the
semi-closed water circuit could not be neglected. A small fraction of the
water that falls on the panel eventually leaves the circuit via evapora-
difference occurs between 11:30 h and 15:30 h when the ambient
tion due to the wind influence. After several tests with different ON/
temperature and solar irradiance are higher. Aside from the increase of
OFF cycles, it was verified that these losses can vary between 10 and
power related to the decrease of temperature, it was also verified that
25 l/h for a range of wind speed up to 6 m/s. This highlights the im-
because of the water flowing in front of the PV panels, those were also
portance of increasing the number of string fed in parallel by the same
cleaned from dust and dirt. This cleaning process keeps the panel
water pump.
cleaned for 2–3 days, even without the cooling system operating, thus
increasing the power output of the string. Even with the cooling system
4.3. Experimental results discussion
not running, due to the water cleaning from the previous day, the pa-
nels already presented an increase of 5% of power. When the cooling
From the experimental results the following conclusions were
system is ON, the power increases up to 15%.
reached:
For the day shown in this figure, the experimental increase of en-
ergy, in this 5 kW string, corresponded to an increase of 3.6 kWh
(1.26 USD) over the 24 kWh (7.02 USD) produced without the cooling • The range of water flow and cycles were enough to keep a uniform
temperature along the PV panel.
system. The cost of water pump energy and water losses were 0.29 USD
and 0.12 USD (72 l), respectively. Therefore, a gross gain of 0.85 USD • heating and cooling of the PV panels can be approximated to
The
exponential transients with the cooling and heating thermal time
was measured, corresponding to an increase of 12.1% of income.
constants of 0.6 and 11 min, respectively.

4.2. ON/OFF cycles efficiency increase • When changing the ON/OFF cycles, the experimental efficiency
enhancement changed between 7% and 17% for the cycles of 20%/
80% and 100%/0% (ON/OFF cycles). With this conclusion, it is
The optimization of the water flow is an important aspect of this
possible to explore the possibility of using only one water pump to
water cooling system. The sizing and energy consumption of the water
feed different PV strings. One example is to use an ON/OFF cycle of
pump and the resulting water losses are critical for the economic via-
20%/80%, to allow the use of one water pump for 5 PV strings (each
bility of the system. The ON/OFF cycles allow us to have several PV
one with 5 kW), where each string is cooled at 20% of the time
strings fed by the same water pump and, using an intermittent cycle as
cycle.
described in Fig. 2, decrease the water and electricity consumption of
the PV cooling. • Additionally, on 11th of August of 2016, using the developed pro-
totype for only one 5 kW PV string, it was measured an energy in-
In Fig. 14 are presented the experimental results for the average
crease of 3.6 kWh (1.26 USD) over the 24 kWh (7.02 USD) of normal
daily increase of efficiency with different ON/OFF cycles, measured
production and a total water cooling system variable costs of
during the 5 months of experiments.
0.41 USD. With this, a gross gain of 0.85 USD was measured,
As it can be seen, the increase of efficiency is not linear with the ON

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corresponding to an increase of 12.1%.

5. Analytical model

To complement the cooling system analysis, a thermoelectric ana-

lytical model was done to provide the possibility of predicting a PV
plant energy production based on weather conditions available online,
with and without the cooling system.
The analytical model consists of the estimation of the PV efficiency
based on (a) the PV temperatures without the cooling system for the
specific weather conditions and (b) the PV temperature with the cooling
system. For the cooled PV, the model was built using the experimental
thermal constants obtained.
Fig. 15. Comparison between experimental data (dashed line) and theoretical data
5.1. PV panel temperature (continuous line), for 9th August of 2016.

Usually, PV panel temperature can be estimated by a simplified

Table 3
model, based on the ambient temperature, Tamb and the irradiance, G .
Initial costs for different strings.
This model is described in (1) [18], where NOCT (Nominal Operation
Cell Temperature) is given by the panel manufacturer in its datasheet. Material 1 2 3 4 5
This variable represents the temperature reached by the cell in normal String Strings Strings Strings Strings
(USD) (USD) (USD) (USD) (USD)
operating conditions, defined by Tamb = 20 °C and G = 800 W/m2.
Water pump 50 50 50 50 50
TPV = Tamb + G (NOCT −20)/800 (1) Water tank + water + filters 300 300 300 300 300
Controller kit 50 50 50 50 50
Controlled vales 25 50 75 100 125
5.2. Cooled PV panel temperature Pipe system + Gutters 175 310 445 580 715
Sprinklers 40 80 120 160 200

To estimate the PV temperature with the water cooling system and Total Cost 640 840 1040 1240 1440
Cost per string 640 420 347 310 288
to obtain the optimal cycle of the prototype, the following solution is
proposed: by analysis of the experimental thermal constants of the
cooled panel temperature (Fig. 11), the cooling and heating of the PV
panel in the ON/OFF cycle could be described by exponential transient
curves.
Eqs. (2) and (3) were deduced, where each parameter is shown in
Table 2. Eq. (2) translates the cooling curve of the PV temperature, and
(3) it's heating.
t
Tcooling = (TPVncool−TPVcool ) e− τON + TPVcool (2)
t
( )
Theating = (TPVncool−TPVcool ) 1−e− τOFF + TPVcool
(3)
To validate the analytical model, the comparison between the ex-
perimental and estimated temperature was done. In Fig. 15 is presented
Fig. 16. An optimal number of strings for one or two pumps (a case study of Lisbon,
the experimental and analytical results for the PV temperature, with
Portugal, 2015).
different ON/OFF cycles in each hour, on 9th of August of 2016. The
analytical model is capable of predicting the behavior of the PV tem-
1200 120
perature with enough accuracy for different cycles of ON/OFF, for Income Increase Annual Water and Pump Costs [USD]
different ambient temperatures and solar radiations. Using the relative 1150 Revenue
Annual Income Increase

100
standard deviation formula, the deviation between the theoretical and Water Pump Energy Costs
and Revenue [USD]

1100
experimental results are about 1.6%. Water Costs
80
1050
6. Economic analysis and system optimization
1000 60
To fully understand the potentiality of this cooling system, an 950
40
900
Table 2
Model parameters meaning. 850 20
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Parameters Start-up Temperature [ºC]

TPVncool Theoretical panel temperature Fig. 17. Annual income increase, revenue and water and energy pump costs with dif-
ferent start-up temperatures (Lisbon, Portugal, 2015).
TPVcool Sum of Tamb with a ΔT value. ΔT < 4 °C (was fitted to experimental
data)
τON Cooling thermal time constant of the panel, equal to 0.6 min (set economic analysis must be done, considering its energy increase, along
experimentally)
with its costs (water pump energy consumption and water losses). To
τOFF Heating thermal time constant of the panel, equal to 11 min (set
experimentally) have significant conclusions, this analysis must be done for at least a

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Fig. 18. Hourly average temperature of the PV

panels without (grey line) and with the cooling
system operating (black line) for the whole year
2015 (case study of Lisbon, Portugal).

Fig. 19. Daily number of hours with the cooling

system operating, for a start-up temperature of 30 °C
(case study of Lisbon, Portugal, 2015).

Table 4
Annual revenue for Lisbon, 2015. With a tank mounted at ambient temperature.

Number of strings

1 2 3 4 5

Energy production of non-cooled PVs 7.96 MWh 15.05 MWh 22.65 MWh 30.16 MWh 37.74 MWh
Increase of energy 12.31% 11.83% 11.31% 10.84% 10.40%
Annual income increase 245 USD 473 USD 680 USD 868 USD 1042 USD
Pump energy consumption (% of energy increase) 0.48 MWh (49%) 0.48 MWh (27%) 0.48 MWh (19%) 0.48 MWh (15%) 0.48 MWh (12%)
Annual Water costs 43 USD 43 USD 43 USD 43 USD 43 USD
Annual energy pump costs 82 USD 82 USD 82 USD 82 USD 82 USD

Annual revenue 120 USD 348 USD 555 USD 743 USD 917 USD

whole year. 6.1. Initial and operating costs

The economic analysis of the system was done based on the initial
investment and operating costs and the income obtained by the effi-
ciency increase. Two case studies were analyzed for a PV power plant
with 5 strings, each one with 25 panels, similar to the studied PV plant,
located in (a) Lisbon, Portugal and (b) Beja, Portugal. Lisbon is located
near the sea, while Beja is an inner city where in the summer the
temperatures are higher.
The system is optimized for each case, regarding the number of
strings per water pump and the start-up temperature of the cooling
system.
The initial costs of the water cooling system were considered to be
the same for both case studies (Lisbon and Beja). Using the same ma-
terials costs, as the ones used in the prototype installed in the RESUL PV
plant, one can calculate the total initial costs for each case-study,
Table 3.
The material costs depend on the number of strings to be cooled.
Costs related to the water pump, water tank (filters and water) and to
the controller kit do not change the number of strings, while the con-
trolled valves, pipe system, and sprinklers are proportional to the

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A.F.A. Castanheira et al.
Fig. 20. Financial return after 20 years for a case study of Lisbon, Portugal, 2015.
number of strings. As result, the initial estimated costs decrease per
string, as more strings are considered.
The operating costs were estimated to be 2–3% of the initial cost per
year (replacement of filters and sprinklers and other costs).
6.2. Case study: Portugal, Lisbon data - 2015
In the first case study, it was considered a PV power plant located in
Lisbon, Portugal. To estimate the total energy produced, with and
without the cooling system, data was provided by the meteorological
institute in Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon. This data
presents the hourly average ambient temperature and solar irradiation
for the whole year of 2015. In this year, the Lisbon annual mean tem-
perature was 16 °C and the annual solar radiation was around 1.7 kWh/
m2.
6.2.1. Variable costs
For the variable costs, the following considerations were made:
• The system operates whenever the panel temperature exceeds
25–35 °C (depending on the chosen temperature).
• Water losses are 15 l/h (average experimental values).
• The tariff of energy sold to the grid, produced by the panels, is
0.266 USD/kWh (same as in the RESUL PV plant).
• The energy purchased from the grid to supply the pump is
0.174 USD/kWh (same as in the RESUL PV plant).
• The water price is 1.614 USD/m (typical value for industrial use in
3
Lisbon).
6.2.2. Water cooling system optimization
To maximize profit, it is necessary to calculate the optimal number
of strings that should be cooled by one water pump. Using the devel-
oped analytical model, the PV panel temperature was estimated for two
cases: (1) without the cooling system and (2) with the cooling system
starting when the PV temperature reaches 30 °C. For this case, it was
found that the water pump would be connected 1912 h per year and the
water and energy annually cost spent at the pump are 43 USD and
82 USD, respectively. These costs were considered independent of the
number of strings because only one string is cooled at a time.
Fig. 16 shows from which a number of strings it compensates to use
a second pump, i.e., two independent set of strings with different
cooling systems. For this case, one pump refrigerating 5 strings still has
a higher revenue than two pumps cooling 5 strings (one pump cooling 2
strings and the other 3 strings). To use 5 strings with only one pump the
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Applied Energy 211 (2018) 1297–1307
chosen water cycle ON/OFF was 2/8 min.
Additionally, it was studied the impact of the start-up temperature
in the cooling system, i.e., the PV temperature from which the cooling
system starts. Fig. 17 show the annual income increase and revenues
and the water and energy pump costs for different start-up tempera-
tures. The behavior of the water and energy pump costs is expected; by
decreasing the start-up temperature the cooling system will be ON more
hours and, thus, more water and energy pump costs are expected.
The optimal operation points are between 28 °C and 30 °C, for the
case of Lisbon. With these, an annual revenue of 907 USD is estimated
with a gross income of 1034 USD and water and energy pump costs of
43 USD and 82 USD.
Figs. 18 and 19 present the evolution of the PV temperature, with
and without the cooling system, and the number of daily hours with the
cooling system ON, for a start-up temperature of 30 °C. Without the
cooling system, the hourly average PV temperature would be higher
than 50 °C in the months of summer, reaching around 60 °C in the
month of June and July. If we compare these results with the ones
obtained experimentally in Fig. 12, we can verify that, in fact, it is
possible to reach 60 °C in the months of summer, without the cooling
system.
Similarly, in these months, the number of working hours per day of
the cooling system increase, reaching 13 h in June, corresponding al-
most to the number of sunlight hours to this day. The gap shown be-
tween the 5th and 10th day of June corresponds to a “blackout” period
without temperature recordings.
6.2.3. Annual revenue
After the optimization of the number of strings per pump and of the
start-up temperature, the annual revenue and associated costs are now
detailed. Table 4 shows the revenue results for the water cooling system
installed in Lisbon, Portugal in 2015, with 5 strings per water pump and
with a start-up temperature of 30 °C. All calculations made are based on
a panel without a routine cleaning, which can be considered as the
typical operation of panels in Portugal. It was also considered a water
tank installed at ambient temperature.
Since the system is to be assembled in already built PV plants, and
their typical lifetime is about 25 years, the calculations were performed
for a period of 20 years. Fig. 20 shows, for this case, the financial return
of around 17000 USD after 20 years.
Additionally, it was also analyzed the case where the water tank is
buried underground and, therefore, the water temperature is lower and
remains almost constant along the year. In this particular case, it was
verified that the increase in energy is almost identical, concluding that
the water temperature is similar to the buried and unburied tank.
6.3. Case study: Beja, Portugal, 2015
Considering other locations for the system, it was chosen Beja,
Portugal, due to its different ambient temperature and solar irradiations
range, with annual mean temperature of 22.4 °C and annual solar ra-
diation of 1.8 kWh/m2. This location has a significantly higher tem-
perature in the summer, where the influence of the temperature in the
PV efficiency is more critical. All considerations, purchase, and sale
tariffs were considered the same as in the previous case.
6.3.1. Water cooling system optimization
The optimization results for the case of Beja indicate similar results
for a number of strings per water pump. Furthermore, the same optimal
start-up temperature points were obtained. These are also between
28 °C and 30 °C. With these, an annual revenue of 1050 USD is esti-
mated with a gross income of 1182 USD and water and energy pump
costs of 46 USD and 86 USD (2110 h of the cooling system operating
time), (see Fig. 21).
A.F.A. Castanheira et al.
Fig. 21. Annual income increase, revenue and water and energy pump cost with different
start-up temperatures (case study of Beja, Portugal, 2015).
As expected, the estimated PV temperatures without the cooling
system are higher than in the Lisbon case. Figs. 22 and 23 present the
evolution of the PV temperature, with and without the cooling system,
and the number of daily hours with the cooling system ON, for a start-
up temperature of 30 °C. In Beja, the PV temperatures can exceed 70 °C,
thus enhancing the importance of the cooling system. Setting a start-up
temperature of 30 °C, the estimated operation time of the cooling
system is 2110 h.
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6.3.2. Annual revenue
Table 5 shows the revenue results for water cooling system installed
in Beja, Portugal in 2015. The calculations were done considering the
tank installed at ambient temperature. As it can be seen, despite Beja
having higher annual average solar radiation, without the cooling
system, the energy production of the PV plant would be lower than
Lisbon (37.45 MWh in Beja and 37.74 MWh in Lisbon) due to the higher
ambient temperatures. Although, the annual revenue of the cooling
system is higher than in the case of Lisbon.
Fig. 24 shows the financial return after 20 years for the case of Beja.
In this case, the financial return will be higher than in Lisbon (from
17,000 USD to 20,000 USD).
It was also considered that the water tank could be buried, assuming
a water temperature in the tank of 20 °C. This configuration allows the
water temperature to be lower than in the previous case and, thus,
originating a higher energy increase. The results are presented in
Fig. 25.
Fig. 22. Hourly average temperature of the PV pa-
nels without (grey line) and with the cooling system
operating (black line) for the whole year 2015 (case
study of Beja, Portugal).
Fig. 23. Daily number of hours with the cooling
system operating, for a start-up temperature of 30 °C
(case study of Beja, Portugal, 2015).
This is the most interesting case for an economic analysis in Beja. It
is observed that there is a financial return after 2 years and during the
PV lifetime, it is expected a profit of approximately 22,000 USD, with 5
strings.
7. Conclusions
A closed loop water cooling system was developed and optimized
A.F.A. Castanheira et al. Applied Energy 211 (2018) 1297–1307

Table 5
Annual revenue for Beja, Portugal, 2015 with a tank mounted at ambient temperature.

Number of strings

1 2 3 4 5

Energy production of non-cooled plant 7.49 MWh 14.98 MWh 22.47 MWh 29.96 MWh 37.45 MWh
Increase of energy 13.03% 12.53% 11.96% 11.43% 10.96%
Annual income increase 275 USD 527 USD 755 USD 962 USD 1152 USD
Pump energy consumption (% of energy increase) 0.53 MWh (54%) 0.53 MWh (28%) 0.53 MWh (20%) 0.53 MWh (16%) 0.53 MWh (13%)
Annual water costs 46 USD 46 USD 46 USD 46 USD 46 USD
Annual energy pump costs 86 USD 86 USD 86 USD 86 USD 86 USD

Annual revenue 125 USD 377 USD 605 USD 812 USD 1002 USD

Fig. 25. Financial return after 20 years for a case study of Barreiras, Brazil, 2016. Tank
buried and water at 20 °C.

Fig. 24. Financial return after 20 years for a case study of Beja, Portugal, 2015. Tank
installed at ambient temperature.
for already installed photovoltaic (PV) plants, to reduce the negative
impact of the temperature on their efficiency. Results from a pilot test
in a 5 kW PV power plant showed that, with an optimized water flow
and ON/OFF cycles, it is possible to increase the PV annual production
by 12%, reaching to 17% of increase peaks (reducing the PV tem-
perature from around 60 °C to 30 °C) and with water losses between 10
and 20 l/h.
A theoretical thermal model based on exponential transients to
model the cooling/heating of the PV panel is sufficiently accurate to
predict the PV temperature based on meteorological data. Based on this
model, two case-studies were analyzed: 25 kW system installed in
Lisbon and installed in Beja, Portugal. For these cases, the best eco-
nomic results are obtained with a start-up temperature of 30 °C and
with 5 strings of 5 kW per water pump. Economic results show that the
cooling system has a payback time of 2 years and have a 20-years
revenue of 17000 USD, for the case of Lisbon, and around 22000 USD
for the case of Beja.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by FCT, through IDMEC, under LAETA,
project UID/EMS/50022/2013. The authors also acknowledge RESUL,
Equipamentos de Energia S.A. for its support on the installation of the
cooling system in their PV power plant.
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