Passive cooling of photovoltaic systems has been demonstrated to enhance their electrical performance at costeffective
methods. Among passive mechanisms, evaporative cooling stands out, particularly when utilizing
water-saturated porous structures. This study explores the parametric analysis of a porous clay structure as an
evaporative cooler for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems. It examines key parameters such as water
saturation levels and meteorological conditions, including wind velocity and relative humidity, assessing their
influence on system’s cooling performance. A numerical heat and mass transport model, along with the evaporation
model based on energy balance principle were presented and solved for this purpose. Further, experimental
evaluation of material variations was conducted utilizing hollow porous clay and traditional hollow red
brick structures, concurrently validating the numerical model. The experimental results highlight significant
improvements, with a 6 % reduction in peak PV temperature observed when using a porous clay structure
compared to conventional red bricks. The parametric study further revealed a maximum 9.7 % reduction in peak
PV temperature at higher water saturation levels. Notably, PV electrical efficiency and output power showed
peak enhancements of 0.93 % and 1.6 %, respectively, when humidity levels were halved rather than doubled.
Additionally, doubling wind velocity led to a 1.13 % decrease in indoor room temperature compared to halved
velocity values, demonstrating the effectiveness of these parameters in optimizing building cooling and PV
performance. Moreover, water evaporation rates reached a maximum of 6.07 L/h.m
2 and a minimum of 2.4 L/h. m 2 when the wind velocity and humidity values were doubled. Moreover, the system attained its highest water consumption rate of 10.19 L/h.m 2 when wind velocity values were doubled. Hence, these findings offer essential insights, underscoring the considerable impact that different operational conditions have on the effectiveness of evaporative cooling systems.