Energy and Exergy Analysis of PCM-Integrated Solar Panels

Simulation code for the paper: "Energy and exergy analysis with cost-efficiency comparison of modified phase change material (PCM) integrated with solar panel thermal system"

Published in: Journal of Physics: Conference Series

Abstract

This study investigates the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of integrating Phase Change Materials (PCMs) into solar panels to optimize power output and power conversion efficiency under varying temperature conditions. By applying PCMs, temperature fluctuations can be reduced, maintaining solar panels at an optimal temperature for power generation.

Key Findings:

• Solar panels integrated with PCM generate up to 11.1% more power than conventional panels
• Best cost-efficiency achieved with paraffin wax and polyethylene glycol combination: 637.7% improvement

Methodology

The simulation models thermal dynamics of a multi-layer PV panel structure:

┌─────────────────────────────┐  ← Solar Irradiance
│  g: Tempered Glass          │
├─────────────────────────────┤
│  b: EVA                     │
├─────────────────────────────┤
│  c: PV Cells                │  ← Power Generation
├─────────────────────────────┤
│  d: EVA                     │
├─────────────────────────────┤
│  e: Tedlar Foil             │
├─────────────────────────────┤
│  p: Phase Change Material   │  ← Thermal Regulation (optional)
├─────────────────────────────┤
│  f: Transparency Acrylic    │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Numerical Approach

• Coupled ODEs: Models heat transfer between layers using energy balance equations
• Time-stepping scheme: Custom numerical integration with dT/dt = (T[i+1] - T[i]) / Δt
• Matrix inversion: Per-step solution of A·X = B via X = A⁻¹·B to propagate temperature states
• Phase change handling: Tracks PCM state (solid/liquid) and latent heat absorption

Project Structure

Energy-and-exergy-analysis/
│
├── Core Modules
│   ├── constants.py        # Physical constants & simulation parameters
│   ├── materials.py        # Material/PCM classes with thermal properties
│   ├── utils.py            # Utility functions (smoothing, thermal conductance)
│   └── power.py            # PV power calculation (single-diode model)
│
├── Data
│   ├── data.py             # Raw measurement data (temperature, irradiance)
│   ├── data_smooth.py      # Data smoothing and preprocessing
│   ├── temperaturedata.py  # Simulation results (temperature)
│   └── powerdata.py        # Simulation results (power)
│
├── Simulation Scripts
│   ├── findtemp_NoPCM.py   # Conventional PV simulation (no PCM)
│   ├── findtemp.py         # Single PCM layer simulation
│   └── findtemp_modifyPCM.py # Dual PCM mixture optimization
│
├── Visualization
│   ├── temperaturegraph.py # Temperature profile plots
│   ├── powergraph.py       # Power output plots
│   ├── effgraph.py         # Efficiency comparison plots
│   └── I-V curve.py        # Current-voltage characteristics
│
├── Reference
│   ├── properties.py       # PCM properties lookup table
│   └── test.py             # Testing utilities
│
└── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/JediNakDev/Energy-and-exergy-analysis.git
cd Energy-and-exergy-analysis

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

Usage

Run Temperature Simulation

# Conventional PV (without PCM)
python findtemp_NoPCM.py

# PV with single PCM
python findtemp.py

# PV with dual PCM optimization
python findtemp_modifyPCM.py

Generate Plots

python temperaturegraph.py   # Temperature profiles
python powergraph.py         # Power output comparison
python effgraph.py           # Efficiency analysis
python "I-V curve.py"        # I-V characteristics

Configure PCM Type

Edit the PCM configuration in findtemp.py or findtemp_modifyPCM.py:

from materials import create_pcm

# Available PCMs:
# - "paraffin_wax"
# - "sodium_sulfate_decahydrate"
# - "polyethylene_glycol"
# - "calcium_chloride_hexahydrate"
# - "octadecane"
# - "lauric_acid"
# - "capric_acid"

p = create_pcm("paraffin_wax")

Data Source

Temperature and light intensity data collected in Wangchan District, Rayong Province, Thailand using:

• Light intensity sensor
• Thermocouple

PCM Properties

Material	Density (kg/m³)	Melting Temp (K)	Latent Heat (kJ/kg)
Paraffin Wax	800	296	140
Sodium Sulfate Decahydrate	1460	305.55	61.6
Polyethylene Glycol	1127	310.65	159
Calcium Chloride Hexahydrate	1470	297.15	140
Octadecane	778.6	301.15	240
Lauric Acid	883	298.6	187.2
Capric Acid	890	304.15	163.4

Citation

If you use this code in your research, please cite:

@article{pcm_solar_2023,
  title={Energy and exergy analysis with cost-efficiency comparison of modified phase change material (PCM) integrated with solar panel thermal system},
  journal={Journal of Physics: Conference Series},
  volume={2653},
  number={1},
  pages={012038},
  year={2023},
  doi={10.1088/1742-6596/2653/1/012038}
}

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Contact

For questions regarding the simulation methodology or paper, please refer to the published paper.