Maximizing Solar Power Efficiency Using Heat Pipes

Project Team

Each year, the Energy & Environment: Design and Innovation team engages students in the exploration of energy challenges that result in prototypes of new energy technologies, systems or approaches.

This subteam examined photovoltaic (PV) solar power, which is expected to play a pivotal role in transitioning the world away from reliance on carbon-emitting fuels. Unfortunately, current photovoltaic systems are adversely affected by heat. Studies have found that a single degree temperature increase of a solar panel decreases efficiency by 0.45%.

In order to tackle this heat challenge, team members created a prototype for a photovoltaic thermal system that employed round heat pipes, usually used for aerospace, medical, HVAC or consumer electronics applications, to capture waste heat and maximize the solar cell’s performance. Through experimentation, the team showed that heat pipes are capable of transferring heat away from the solar cell, increasing its efficiency. 

Check out their poster below and see what other subteams developed, including an energy-harvesting speed bump, a low-cost wind turbine that can fit into a backpack, new green roof technology, and bricks made of recycled plastics.

Energy Capture Using Heat Pipes in a Photovoltaic Thermal System

Poster by Woodley Burrow, Katie Cobb, Powell Lowe, Kevin Peng, Will Rawlings, Ashley Rosen and Swetha Sekhar

Project poster.