Comparative Performance of Activated Fly Ash-Based Lauric Acid and Paraffin Wax SSPCMs for Photovoltaic Thermal Management
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Excessive heat accumulation in photovoltaic panels increases operating temperature and reduces electrical performance, particularly in tropical regions. Shape-stabilized phase change material (SSPCM) offers a passive thermal management approach by absorbing excess heat as latent heat while maintaining dimensional stability through a supporting matrix. This study evaluates the effect of SSPCM integration on photovoltaic performance compared with a reference panel without SSPCM, and compares lauric acid- and paraffin wax-based SSPCMs using activated fly ash (AFA) as the supporting matrix. Both SSPCMs were evaluated through leakage test, Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and outdoor solar panel performance testing. The optimum lauric acid formulation was a 45:55 lauric acid-to-AFA ratio, with the lowest leakage rate (0.043%) and the highest latent heat (56.21 J/g). Under representative outdoor test conditions, this formulation reduced the solar panel temperature by 2.72 °C and increased efficiency by 1.76 percentage points. For the paraffin wax system, the optimum formulation was obtained at a 40:60 paraffin wax-to-AFA ratio, with a mass loss of 1.82% and a latent heat of 53.78 J/g. Under the same representative test conditions, this formulation reduced the solar panel temperature by 3.29 °C and increased efficiency by 1.88 percentage points. Across five outdoor testing sessions, LA-SSPCM and PW-SSPCM reduced the average PV temperature by 2.44 and 2.62 °C, respectively, and increased electrical efficiency by 2.53 and 1.65 percentage points, respectively. The results confirm that SSPCM integration improves photovoltaic performance. LA-SSPCM showed lower leakage rate, slightly higher latent heat, and superior electrical efficiency improvement, while PW-SSPCM provided a slightly greater average temperature reduction, although the difference in average temperature between the two SSPCMs was not statistically significant.
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