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The innovation could raise annual solar power generation by up to seven percent in dense cities.
Researchers in Hong Kong have developed a low-cost hydrogel coating that cools solar panel hot spots and increases the power output, thus improving their overall performance and reliability.
The coating targets hot spots, areas of high disproportionately localized heating in a single solar cell or part of a cell compared with surrounding cells. Caused by partial shading, they are one of the most persistent problems in photovoltaic (PV) systems.
Hot spots can not only lower power output, but they can also lead to module failure, long-term degradation, and even cause fire. Studies show that hot spots cause 22 percent of PV module failures within just three years of operation.
The coating was built by Yan Jerry, PhD, chair professor of energy and buildings at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), and Liu Junwei, PhD, a research assistant in the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering.
Applying the hydrogel-based cooling layer to solar panels can reduce hot spot temperatures by up to 29 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius), according to the PolyU research team.
This reduction translated into a power output increase of as much as 13 percent in laboratory and system-level tests. Yan stressed that the hydrogel cooling tech addresses the hot spot issue without the need to modify existing circuit designs.
It is additionally cost-effective and user friendly, which makes it suitable for urban settings. “Taking Hong Kong and Singapore as case studies, our team anticipates potential annual power generation increases of 6.5 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively,” he said.
When used in rooftop and building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems, the coating is expected to recover nearly half of the power losses typically caused by hot spots. “The estimated payback periods are notably short as just 4.5 years and 3.2 years,” said Yan.
Hot spots are a common problem in solar installations. Studies examining more than 3.3 million PV panels found that 36.5 percent exhibited thermal defects, with affected modules showing average temperature increases exceeding 38 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius).
These elevated temperatures accelerate material aging and performance losses. They also undermine the long-term economics of solar energy systems. The team combined the natural polymer hydroxyethyl cellulose with a fibrous material called leafy cotton thread within the hydrogel matrix.
“On a global scale, this innovation has the potential to offset approximately 50 percent of power generation losses caused by hot spots in BIPV systems, demonstrating its pivotal contribution to the advancement of solar energy technology,” Yan said.
According to Liu, this design helps overcome critical issues such as cracking and shrinkage, which commonly affect conventional hydrogels during prolonged use.
“Traditional hydrogels can experience volumetric shrinkage of up to 46 percent after extended use, whereas our innovation significantly reduces cracking and shrinkage, limiting the volumetric shrinkage rate to 34 percent,” Liu concluded in a press release.
The team now plans to further develop the hydrogel-based evaporative cooling approach to support the wider adoption of emerging PV technologies.
Based in Skopje, North Macedonia. Her work has appeared in Daily Mail, Mirror, Daily Star, Yahoo, NationalWorld, Newsweek, Press Gazette and others. She covers stories on batteries, wind energy, sustainable shipping and new discoveries. When she's not chasing the next big science story, she's traveling, exploring new cultures, or enjoying good food with even better wine.
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