Peak Power Enhancement of Solar Photovoltaic Modules under Variable Tilt Angles Using High- Conductivity Heat Sink Materials: A Numerical and Experimental Study

This study numerically investigates the effect of an aluminum (AA6063) heat sink on the thermal and electrical performance of a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel using a finite-volume-based software. Heat sinks with 2, 4, and 23-finned configurations were analyzed under natural convection and validated against experimental data. Results show strong agreement between simulation and experiment. Increasing the number of fins significantly reduced surface temperature and improved power output. The 23-fin (F23) configuration achieved the best performance, lowering temperature and increasing peak power at an optimal tilt angle of 60°. The peak power was 1.128 W, achieved with the AA6063 heat sink. The surface temperature for the same case was 32.88 °C. The AA6063 heat sink with 23 fins reduced the excessive surface temperature from 36.45 °C to 32.45 °C in the case without fins. The study reports temperature reductions of up to 10°C, resulting in 4.35% increase in power output. The findings confirm that A6063 heat sinks provide an effective, simple, and cost-efficient passive cooling solution for enhancing the efficiency of PV panels.