Volume 37: New Energy, New Ecology and New Environment

Enhancing PV Efficiency through Scalable Radiant Cooling with Optimized Randomly Doped Particle Structures Maoquan Huang, Cuiping Ma, Qie Sun, Mu Du

Abstract

Solar energy is a critical resource in the fight against climate change, yet a significant portion of solar radiation is dissipated as heat in photovoltaic (PV) systems, impairing their performance. Conventional solar cell cooling technologies are energy-intensive and demand regular maintenance. Here, we propose a scalable and economically viable radiative cooling cover employing randomly doped particle structures to combat these issues. The cover’s solar transmittance and “sky window” emissivity were investigated numerically, using a combination of Mie theory and Monte Carlo method. The optimal design yields a solar transmittance of 94.8% and a “sky window” emissivity of 95.3%, resulting in a power generation of 147.8 W/m² for the radiative cooling PV (RCPV) module. A comparison of this module’s power efficiency under various environmental conditions with bare crystalline silicon solar cells and covered glass covers indicated that the PV surface temperature was 10.3 K lower in our module, closely approximating the ideal scheme. This innovative approach offers a pathway for enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of PV systems, contributing to the broader adoption of solar energy in combating climate change.

Keywords Radiative cooling, Solar cell, Structural optimization