Novreza Pratama, Zainal Arifin, Rendy Adhi Rachmanto, Singgih Dwi Prasetyo
The rising operating temperature of photovoltaic (PV) panels, particularly in floating solar systems, reduces electrical efficiency and long-term reliability. Passive cooling using thermosyphon technology offers a promising solution without additional energy consumption. This study experimentally investigates a hybrid floating photovoltaic– thermosyphon (FPV–TS) system to enhance thermal regulation and power generation. Nine collector configurations combining three width-to-distance (W/D) ratios (0.5:1, 0.75:1, 1:1) and three depth dimensions (20, 30, 40 mm), under real outdoor conditions. Measured temperature, power, and efficiency to evaluate the best configuration performance. Results show that thermosyphon integration reduced PV temperature by up to 6.8℃ and increased electrical efficiency by 9.3%. Defining optimality by daily-average performance (total efficiency and electrical output), W/D = 0.75:1 at depth 30 achieved the highest day-average efficiency, narrowly surpassing the depth 40 variant. The collector 40 exhibited slightly higher instantaneous thermal efficiency near noon but yielded no meaningful daily gain, indicating diminishing returns beyond 30 alongside greater fluid inventory and fabrication complexity. Deeper collectors enhanced heat dissipation through improved convective transfer, while moderate spacing minimized lateral heat loss. This research provides empirical insights into geometric optimization of thermosyphon collectors for passive PV cooling and offers design guidance for improving floating solar system performance. ©2025 The authors. This article is published by IIETA and is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta, 57126, Indonesia; State University of Malang, Malang, 65145, Indonesia
