Standalone Solar Photovoltaic Systems Optimization with Boehmite Nanofluid Backflow Channels: A Data-Driven Approach for Improved Efficiency

PV system efficiency can be significantly improved by improving the efficiency of the PV panels used. The increase in panel temperature due to the excessive heating of the panels, especially in high radiation areas, reduces the panel's efficiency. It has been reported that extracting the heat of the panels using nanofluid backflow channels can significantly improve panel efficiency and the system's overall performance. Utilizing the fact that the reduction in panel temperature depends on the type of nanofluid used, in this work, an effort has been made to increase the panels’ efficiency further by using nanofluid having better thermal properties. MATLAB/ Simulink model has been developed to look into the performance under different temperature and irradiance scenarios given comprehensive data for a subtropical region (27.8974° N, 78.0880° E) bought through simulation runs collection process. Comparative evaluations are performed between the proposed Boehmite-based system with nanofluid, ZnO and TiO2-based nanofluids and without nanofluid channel systems. Results obtained indicate that using Boehmite-based nanofluid enhances system efficiency by 1–1.7%. Besides, ZnO and TiO2-based nanofluids’ systems improved up to 1% when compared with the system without a nanofluid channel and had efficiency gains of 1–1.5%. The presented work provides a viable solution for design engineers to design efficient PV systems for different locations.