The photovoltaic, PV, cell is an emerging promising technology used to convert light energy into electrical energy. As fulfilling this function, the cell temperature increases and negatively affects its electrical efficiency. Accurate prediction of the temperature distribution through the PV cell is essential to evaluate its electrical performance. Therefore, the main aim of the present study is to develop a one-dimensional transient analytical model as well as a computational model, using Ansys CFD program to analyze the cell thermal behavior by predicting the temperature distribution through the cell layers at different solar intensity values.
The results insured that operating the PV cell at locations of high solar intensities could negatively affect its performance due to its surface temperature increase. Increasing the solar intensity from 100 to 700 W/m2 results in increasing the PV cell average temperature by about 48 % while decreasing the PV electrical efficiency by about 14 %. Hence, cooling techniques of the cell are very necessary to reduce its surface temperature; and accordingly enhance its electrical efficiency. Compared to the no cooling case, increasing the convective heat transfer coefficient at the lower surface of the cell enhances the cell temperature reduction by almost 23%.