Photovoltaic Cooling Technologies: Current Developments, Technical Barriers, and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Solar energy has become one of the most promising renewable energy sources owing to its wide availability and relatively low initial cost for energy conversion. Among the various technologies, photovoltaic (PV) systems represent one of the most effective approaches for harnessing solar energy through the photovoltaic effect. Nevertheless, a key limitation affecting the large-scale deployment of PV systems is their sensitivity to operating temperature. Heat accumulation can reduce electrical performance, accelerate degradation, and create spatial temperature non-uniformity across the module surface. In this context, thermal symmetry refers to a balanced and spatially uniform temperature distribution across comparable regions of a PV module; improved thermal symmetry can reduce local hot spots and thermal gradients that adversely affect reliability. Existing literature on PV cooling places insufficient emphasis on the standardization of critical parameters required to evaluate and compare different cooling techniques under consistent operating conditions. Therefore, this study reviews recent advancements in passive, active, and hybrid PV cooling and proposes a common comparison framework covering temperature reduction, electrical performance, auxiliary energy consumption, net energy benefit, economic considerations, environmental requirements, climate suitability, maintenance, scalability, and technology maturity. Particular attention is given to the distinction between gross performance improvement and net benefit in active cooling systems, for which pumps and fans may consume part of the additional generated energy. The analysis indicates that PV cooling technologies still face critical challenges, including high costs, maintenance demands, incomplete reporting of parasitic energy use, and reduced or variable performance under extreme environmental conditions. The review concludes with recommendations for standardized testing, climate-adaptive design, improved thermal uniformity, and transparent reporting of net system performance.