Home cooling panel based on PV and waste cooking oil

A research team from India’s Aarupadai Veedu Institute of Technology has simulated the performance of cooling panels that combine PV power generation, thermoelectric (TE) cooling, and latent heat storage. The system uses waste cooking oil as a bio-based phase change material (PCM).

Cooling panels for homes are building-integrated systems that absorb and remove heat from indoor spaces, helping lower temperatures and reduce air conditioning demand. They can use technologies such as circulating water, thermoelectric devices, or phase change materials to store and release thermal energy. When combined with PV modules, they can use solar-generated electricity to provide cooling with lower energy consumption.

“Our study introduces a multi-fidelity modeling approach for solar-driven hybrid cooling panels using waste cooking oil as a phase change material,” corresponding author Keerthi Palraj told pv magazine. “The novelty lies in converting a waste resource into a low-cost thermal energy storage material for sustainable cooling applications.”

According to Palraj, the study’s most significant finding is that waste cooking oil-based PCM demonstrated effective thermal energy storage and cooling performance, highlighting its potential as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional PCMs. She added that the team plans to investigate long-term performance under real climatic conditions and explore enhanced PCM formulations.

The cooling panel consists of a PV module as the outermost layer, converting incoming solar radiation into electricity. The generated electricity directly powers a TE module that is thermally coupled to a waste palm oil PCM. The hot side of the TE module is connected to a heat sink that dissipates heat to the ambient environment.

During the day, the PV module supplies electricity to the TE unit, which removes heat from the PCM and stores cooling capacity within the PCM layer. At night, when solar generation is unavailable and the TE module is inactive, the PCM absorbs heat from the building interior, helping maintain lower indoor temperatures through latent heat storage.

The researchers simulated and optimized the system using a three-layer, multi-fidelity modeling framework. A zero-dimensional (0D) lumped-parameter model was used to evaluate system-level temperatures, cooling performance, and economics. A two-dimensional (2D) finite element model (FEM) captured heat transfer, PCM phase-change behavior, and thermal interactions. The simulation results were then used to train a machine learning surrogate model, enabling rapid performance prediction and design optimization.

The simulations indicate that a single panel can provide approximately 6 kWh/day to 15 kWh/day of cooling, reduce peak indoor temperatures by up to 3 C, and shift cooling loads by about 3 hours.

A techno-economic analysis found a payback period of 3 years to 4 years, which could be reduced to around 2 years with incentives. A life cycle analysis indicated a carbon payback period of less than 2 years, with the panel avoiding approximately 1.2 t of CO₂ emissions annually while reutilizing 40 kg of waste cooking oil.

The researchers said future work should focus on scalable manufacturing systems, AI-driven control methodologies, and advances in PCM enhancement technologies to improve economic viability and long-term sustainability.

Their findings were presented in “Multi-Fidelity Modelling of Solar-Driven Hybrid Cooling Panels with Waste Cooking Oil as Phase Change Materials,” published in Results in Engineering.