Passive cooling of a photovoltaic module via fins attached to the rear surface of the module is investigated. A solar module with no air cooling was used as a base model for comparison against modules
cooled by the attached fins, which serve as a heat sink. The modules with fins are cooled by still air and
ventilation air. A theoretical study of heat transfer through PV modules with and without fins was
conducted to investigate how the calculated cell temperature and module output power are influenced
by the ambient temperature and solar irradiation. The results showed a drop of module temperature and
increase of electrical efficiency due to fins cooling. The electrical efficiency of the module increases
significantly with the increase of fins height and number. The calculated values of cell temperature,
open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of the module with and without fins agreed reasonably
with those measured experimentally over the day hours. The output power over the day hours increases
at first from sunrise until noon time followed by a decrease until sunset. On the contrary, the electrical
efficiency decreases from sunrise until noon time followed by an increase until sunset in agreement with
previous findings in the literature.