Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 12 (2018) 223–227

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Case Studies in Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/csite

Experimental analysis of using beeswax as phase change materials

T
for limiting temperature rise in building integrated photovoltaics
⁎
Razali Thaiba, Samsul Rizala, Hamdania, T.M.I. Mahliab, Nugroho Agung Pambudic,d,
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh 23111, Indonesia
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia
c
Department Mechanical Engineering Education, Universitas Negeri Sebelas Maret, Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Indonesia
d
International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Research (WPI-I2CNER), Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan

A R T IC LE I N F O ABS TRA CT

Keywords: Indonesia has the potential of saving from 10% to 30% of energy in the commercial sector which
PV consists of trade, hotels, restaurants, finances, government agencies, schools, hospitals, and
Phase change material communications. By simultaneously serving as building envelope material and power generator,
Temperature BIPV systems can represent savings in the cost of materials and electricity. It reduce the use of
Efficiency
fossil fuels and emission of ozone depleting gases, and also add architectural interest to buildings.
However, the temperature rise poses a challenge for BIPV, given that it manifests itself in elec-
trical efficiency and overheating. The experiments present in this study aim at understanding the
behavior of the PV-PCM systems in realistic outdoor uncontrolled conditions to determine how
effective they are. In addition, the PV-PCM systems were tried in the low latitude and hot climate
of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Experiments were conducted outdoors at the Engineering Faculty in
Syiah Kuala University, located in Banda Aceh, Indonesia (05:57 N, 95.37 E). In this study, both
paraffin wax and beeswax were used as a phase change material. The final results showed that
the electrical efficiency of PV panels without PCM is ranged between 6.1% and 6.5%. While for
PV panels with PCM the efficiency is ranged at 7.0–7.8%. This proved that the process of water
cooling is capable of increasing the efficiency of PV panels.

1. Introduction

In line with increasing development and the pattern of life, energy consumption continues to rise. This increase occurred in almost
every sector, including industry, transportation, commercial, household, and power generation. The total national energy con-
sumption in the period 2003–2013 showed an increase with an average growth rate of 4.1% per year. Total energy consumption
increased from 117 million TOE in 2003 to 174 million TOE in 2013 [1].
The commercial sector is formed by trade, hotels, restaurants, financial, government agencies, schools, hospitals, communications
and others. The data for the years of 2004–2011 showed that this sector manifested an average growth of 8% per year. However,
growth in the commercial sector does not share its pattern with the growth of energy consumption. The growth of energy con-
sumption in the commercial sector in the period 2004–2011 had an average growth of 4% per year. In 2014, this sector consumed the
energy of 5:22 million TOE, or about 3% of the total energy consumption. Based on the master plan of national energy conservation
[2], the commercial sector has a 10–30% potential of saving energy.
There are several ways of achieving a decrease in energy consumption, including the use of low carbon building materials,

⁎
Corresponding author at: Department Mechanical Engineering Education, Universitas Negeri Sebelas Maret, Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Indonesia.
E-mail address: pambudi@kyudai.jp (N.A. Pambudi).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csite.2017.12.005
Received 26 July 2017; Received in revised form 8 November 2017; Accepted 18 December 2017
Available online 19 December 2017
2214-157X/ © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
R. Thaib et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 12 (2018) 223–227

Nomenclature

A Area(m2)
G Radiation intensity (W/m2)
T Temperature
V Voltage(Volt)
I Current(ampere)
r Reference temperature = 25 °C

Greek letters

α Temperature coefficient (1/°C)

ηo Efficiency (–)

improved insulation, low-energy lighting, embedding renewable technology, intelligent control and use of low carbon fuels. The use
of renewable energy in the process of building must be done in such a way as to ensure reliable performance and cost-effective energy
saving. A Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) system consists of integrating photovoltaics modules into the building itself, it
could be in the roof or the façade. By simultaneously serving as material for the building and power generator, BIPV systems can
provide savings in the cost of materials and electricity, reduce use of fossil fuels and emission of ozone depleting gases, as well as add
architectural interest to the building [3].
However, BIPV faces a challenge with the rise in temperature; this challenge is manifests itself in the form of electrical efficiency
loss and overheating. This efficiency loss is mainly due to a decrease in open-circuit voltage (Voc), which has a negative temperature
coefficient. Currently, however, only 15–20% of the solar energy on a PV panel can be converted to electricity; the rest of the energy
is transformed into heat. This heat can well be absorbed by the PV device itself, causing its working temperature to rise up to 80 °C.
PV conversion efficiency decreases 0.4–0.65% for every increased degree in temperature [4].
For this reason, many researchers are seeking to mitigate the influence of high temperature on PV conversion efficiency by rapidly
removing heat from the PV module surfaces to maintain as good a performance as possible. Much of the research has focused on
natural or forced air circulation, heat pipes and hydraulic or refrigerant cooling [5–8].
Experimental and analytical studies of the use of the PC as a PV panel cooling material have also been widely reported [9–13].
This system was named PV–PCM or PV/PCM, a hybrid technology integrating a PV panel and a PCM into a single module to achieve
higher module solar conversion efficiency than a PV panel could while acting alone. This is a promising integration; the PV converts
visible and ultra-violet components of the solar spectrum, while the PCM utilizes the infra-red components and the waste heat from
the PV.
The PCM also reduces the PV temperature thereby increasing its efficiency. Compared to PV using natural or forced air circulation
for cooling, PV-PCM modules has the advantage of having a smaller module size and offer better integration possibilities on building

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of PV/PCM system.

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envelopes. However, the PV–PCM system is still in the infancy stages; various issues remain unclear, presenting opportunities for
further research [14]. The aim of these experiments is to study the behavior of the PV-PCM systems in outdoor uncontrolled con-
ditions to determine how effective the PV-PCM systems are in ‘real’ conditions. In addition, the PV-PCM systems were characterized
in the low latitude hot climate of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Experiments were conducted outdoors at the Engineering Faculty, located in
Syiah Kuala University, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia (05.57 N, 95,37 E). In this study, both paraffin wax and beeswax were used as a
phase change material.

2. Method

This study was conducted outdoors at the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Syiah Kuala; this research went on from 08-
07-2016 to 15-07-2016. Three PV panels were used; one of them served as reference, while the second one used paraffin wax as a
phase change material (PV-PCM1), and the third one used beeswax as a phase change material (PV-PCM2). The shape and size of the
container filled with PCM was built as proposed by Huang [13] and it can be seen in Fig. 1; it is made of 0.8 mm aluminium.
The study was conducted from 07:00 to 17:00, where ambient temperatures, wind speed, solar radiation intensities, temperatures
at both the back and the front, and Voc and Isc were measured for reference of PV and PV-PCM. The PV panel was placed facing north.
Fig. 2 shows the experimental setup consisting of the reference PV panels without PCM, PV-PCM1 and PV-PCM2 installed outdoors
at the Engineering Faculty. The temperatures and Voc and Isc were measured with the use of a data logger and multimeters. The
paraffin wax used for the PCM system showed a melting temperature of 46.7 °C, while the beeswax melted at 51 °C.
According to the Cox and Raghuraman [15] report, the insolation of wavelength above 1.1 µm is transmitted through the silicon
cell without any absorption. The electric efficiency (ηe) of the PV panel was determined with the use of the following equation:
ηe = ηo [1 − β (Tp − Tr )] (1)

Standard electric efficiency (ηo) was calculated with this equation:

voc lsc
ηo = x 100 %
G Ap (2)

where ηo is the nominal electrical efficiency under standard condition, A is the area of the PV module, G is the irradiation and it is
defined as 1000 W/m2 for standard condition, Voc is the PV voltage at maximum power point and Isc is the PV current at maximum
power point. All the relevant data can be obtained from the specifications of the PV module shown in Table 1; To is the temperature
of standard condition, 25 °C, Tc is the cell temperature, β is the temperature coefficient of silicon cell, β = 0.0045/°C.

3. Results and discussion

Although experiments were conducted from 08-07-2016 to 15-07-2016, the weather conditions were not always stable. On
certain days the solar radiation intensity and the ambient temperatures were not high enough due to overcast weather conditions in
Indonesia and fog conditions in Banda Aceh which restricted temperatures at the PV surface to such low values that the PCM could
not melt properly. For other days the ambient temperatures and the solar radiation were high enough to raise the PV temperature
above the PCM melting point which allowed heat absorption and thus melting of PCM to occur.
Fig. 3. shows that solar radiation intensity ranged from 448 W/m2 at 9:00 to 259 W/m2 at 18:00 with a peak at 1042 W/m2 at
14:00. The best case data with higher solar radiation intensities (1042 W/m2) peak and ambient temperatures (34 °C peak) was
obtained at 09-07-2016. The stable conditions resulted in higher temperatures at the reference PV front surface. This made more heat
available for the PV, which enabled higher heat harnessing by the PCM at the back of the PV resulting in more temperature reduction.

Fig. 2. Outdoor experimental setup consisting of a reference PV, PV-PCM1 and PV-PCM2 installed.

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Table 1
Specifications of the PV Panel.
Type : Silicon nitride monocrystalline

Maximum power (Pmax) : 50 W

Voltage at Pmax (Vmp) : 17.5 W
Current at Pmax (Imp) : 2.9
Warranted minimum Pmax : 45 W
Short-circuit current (Isc) : 3.2 A
Open-circuit voltage (Voc) : 21.8
Dimensions :
Length 839 mm
Width 537 mm
Depth 50 mm

Fig. 3. Solar radiation intensity, Banda Aceh on 9-07-2016.

Fig. 4. shows the average temperature evolution on the front surface of the reference PV, PV-PCM1 and PV-PCM2. Temperature at
the PV front surface increased rapidly from 24 °C (at 07:00) to 40 °C in 1 h and 30 min (at 08:30) and remained above 40 °C for 7 h
and 30 min (up to 16:00) with a peak temperature of 629 °C at 12:30. As shown in Fig. 4 PV-PCM1 and PV-PCM2 followed the same
trend in temperature rise as the reference PV temperature, however the PV-PCM systems maintained lower temperatures than those
of the reference PV throughout the experiment. After 12:00 the temperature of the reference PV dropped rapidly due to the combined
effect of (i) decreased incoming heat caused by decreasing solar radiation intensity and (ii) increased heat loss in the environment due
to rapid increase in wind speed. The temperature in the PV-PCM systems showed less of a decrease, primarily due to the stored latent
heat and thermal mass of the PCM in the PV-PCM systems, which releases stored heat while producing small temperature changes.
Fig. 5. shows the temperature evolution on the rear surface of the PV panels. It is seen that the temperature of the rear surface of
the PV reference was at 54 °C at its maximum and this occurred at 12:00p.m. At that moment the front surface temperature was 62 °C,
leaving a difference of 8 °C. While the PV-PCM1 showed a maximum temperature of 43.1 °C in the rear, and 60.4 °C on the front. The
difference is demonstrated at 17 °C, while the PV-PCM2 shows a difference of 9.15 °C.
Fig. 6, shows the impact of the PV panel in the temperature at the front of the panel. Electricity efficiency was determined using
Eq. (1). The graphic shows that electricity efficiency of PV panel without PCM is ranged between 6.1% and 6.5%. While for PV panel
with PCM the efficiency is ranged at 7.0−7.8%. This proved that air cooling is capable of increasing the efficiency of the PV panel.

Fig. 4. Average temperature at the front surface of the PV, PV-PCM1 and PV- PCM2.(Banda Aceh on 9-07-2016).

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Fig. 5. Average temperature at rear surface of reference PV, PV-PCM1 and PV- PCM2 (Banda Aceh on 9-07-2016).

Fig. 6. Relation of electrical efficiency with PV panels surface temperature.

4. Conclusion

The result of the observations conducted on July 09, 2016 on the changes of PV panel surface temperature is shown in Fig. 4, it
also shows the solar radiation intensity of the PV panel with and without the PCM mechanism. The graphic shows that maximum
intensity of solar radiation was achieved at 12.00 o'clock at 1024 W/m2, followed by the maximum temperature of 62 °C at the
surface of the PV panel without PCM. It was shown that lowering the surface temperature proved to have a significant impact during
PCM cooling, where the maximum temperature was only at 60.4 °C. In comparison, PV panel without PCM recorded that from 09:00
to 14:00 the temperature rised up to 28 °C, while PV panels with PCM only reached 11 °C. This proves that beeswax has a better
ability to absorb heat as compared to paraffin wax, and it also proves that the test device was working well. Both PCM evaluations
showed promising potential for the desired application, with higher potential in the low altitude heat of Banda Aceh.

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