Investigating the effect of green composite back sheet materials on solar panel output voltage harvesting for better sustainable energy performance

Abstract Clean sustainable energy and proper utilization of the available natural resources are of paramount importance for the modern societies. In this work, green composite materials were designed, fabricated and utilized as back sheets for the solar photovoltaic panels to investigate their effects on the output voltage of the solar cell unit. Such replacement of the back sheet of the solar cells would improve their efficiency while reducing the cost and enhancing better environmental conservations. Green back sheet composites were designed with 25 wt% and 50 wt% of high-density polyethylene with all Rhus typhina, Punica granatum and Piper nigrum powders. Investigations of the effect of green composite back sheet materials on solar panel output voltage harvesting have been carried out in Jordan at Zarqa city (latitude 32.07°, longitude 36.08°). Results have revealed that R. typhina and P. nigrum based composites with 25 wt% fiber loading have demonstrated much better output voltage comparable to the original back sheet cell. The maximum output voltage was found to be enhanced about 58 % with the green composite back sheets. This in order would improve the efficiency of such solar cell units and enhance better environmental indices.