Energy and exergy analysis of hybrid micro-channel photovoltaic thermal module

In this communication, an attempt has been made to evaluate energy and exergy analysis of a hybrid micro-channel photovoltaic thermal (MCPVT) module based on proposed micro-channel solar cell thermal (MCSCT) under constant mass flow rate of air in terms of design and climatic parameter. The performance in terms of overall annual thermal and exergy gain and exergy efficiency of micro-channel photovoltaic thermal module have been evaluated by considering four weather conditions for different climatic conditions of India. Further analysis has also been carried out for single channel photovoltaic thermal (SCPVT) module and the results of micro-channel photovoltaic thermal module and single channel photovoltaic thermal module have been compared.On the basis of numerical computations, it has been observed that an overall annual thermal and exergy gains have been increased by 70.62% and 60.19% respectively for MCPVT module for Srinagar climatic conditions. Similar observations have been made for Bangalore, Jodhpur and New Delhi.     

Analysis of different configurations of flat plate water collectors connected in series

This paper presents the analytical study of flat plate collector based on the computer‐based thermal models considering two different cases, case A (fully covered by glass) and case B (fully covered by photovoltaic (PV) module). These models are developed based on energy balance equations. An analytical expression for characteristic equation for photovoltaic–thermal flat plate collector has been derived as a function of design and climatic parameters. This paper shows the detailed analysis of energy, exergy and electrical energy by varying the number of collectors by considering four weather conditions (A, B, C and D type) for five different cities (New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Srinagar and Jodhpur) of India. It is observed that the collectors fully covered by PV module combine the production of hot water in addition to electricity generation and it is beneficial in terms of exergy, thermal energy and electrical energy gain. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal modeling of a combined system of photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) solar water heater

In this paper, an integrated combined system of a photovoltaic (glass–glass) thermal (PV/T) solar water heater of capacity 200 l has been designed and tested in outdoor condition for composite climate of New Delhi. An analytical expression for characteristic equation for photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) flat plate collector has been derived for different condition as a function of design and climatic parameters. The testing of collector and system were carried out during February–April, 2007. It is observed that the photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) flat plate collector partially covered with PV module gives better thermal and average cell efficiency which is in accordance with the results reported by earlier researchers.     

Parametric study of various configurations of hybrid PV/thermal air collector: Experimental validation of theoretical model

In this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate the overall performance of hybrid PV/thermal (PV/T) air collector. The different configurations of hybrid air collectors which are considered as unglazed and glazed PV/T air heaters, with and without tedlar. Analytical expressions for the temperatures of solar cells, back surface of the module, outlet air and the rate of extraction of useful thermal energy from hybrid PV/T air collectors have been derived. Further an analytical expression similar to Hottel–Whiller–Bliss (HWB) equation for flat plate collector has also been derived in terms of design and climatic parameters. Numerical computations have been carried out for composite climate of New Delhi and the results for different configurations have been compared. The thermal model for unglazed PV/T air heating system has also been validated experimentally for summer climatic conditions. It is observed that glazed hybrid PV/T without tedlar gives the best performance.     

Energy matrices analysis of hybrid PVT greenhouse dryer by considering various silicon and non-silicon PV modules

In this paper, a study was carried out to evaluate the annual thermal and exergy performance of hybrid photovoltaic-thermal greenhouse dryer, located at IIT Delhi, India by considering various silicon and non-silicon-based photovoltaic (PV) modules namely mono crystalline silicon (c-Si), multi crystalline silicon (mc-Si), nano crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, Cadmium Telluride and Copper Indium Gallium Selenide. The annual net electrical energy savings for these modules for a, b, c and d type weather conditions for New Delhi has been calculated. Embodied energy and annual energy outputs have been used for evaluation of energy matrices such as energy payback time, electricity production factor (EPF) and life cycle conversion efficiency (LCCE) of the system. The results also showed that EPF, LCCE, CO ₂ mitigations and carbon credits earned, were maximum for c-Si-type PV module, and hence it was recommended for the proposed system.     

Parametric study of a reverse flat plate absorber cabinet dryer: A new concept

In this communication, the concept of reverse flat plate collector has been used as a heating medium of air for the drying of agricultural products in a cabinet dryer. The reverse flat plate absorber is a non-concentrating collector which can collect solar heat at high temperature unlike conventional nonconcentrating collectors. The thermal performance of the proposed dryer is analyzed by solving the various energy balance equations. An attempt has been made to optimize the vent area of the dryer for speedy flow of humid air from the drying chamber to the atmosphere. In order to have parametric studies, numerical computations have been carried out for a typical day in June for Delhi climatic conditions. The performance of this system is compared with that of conventional cabinet dryers. It is found that the reverse flat plate absorber dryer gives the better performance.     

Performance analysis of direct solar dryer driven by photovoltaic thermal energy recovery and solar air collector for drying materials and electricity generation

The direct-type solar dryer is characterized by very simple construction, less maintenance, cost-effectiveness, and is easy to handle. The present study aims to enhance the performance of a direct-type solar dryer. To achieve this, the photovoltaic (PV) panels with thermal energy recovery and solar air collector were integrated with the direct-type solar dryer. In this study, the PV panels with thermal energy recovery and solar air collector were utilized as preheating units to raise the air temperature before entering the direct solar dryer. Moreover, the PV panels were utilized to drive the air blower. In this study, three incorporated models are suggested to study the performance of the solar dryer integrated with PV panels with thermal energy recovery and solar air collector. The model of each component was validated by the previously recorded empirical data. The results confirmed that the dual utilization of the PV panels with thermal energy recovery and solar air collector as a preheating unit raised the air temperature entering the direct solar dryer by the rate varying between 29°C and 42°C within the period 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Also, the moisture content of banana samples inside the direct solar dryer reduced from the initial value of 72% (wb) to the value of 33.4% (wb) within 7 h (9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.). During this operating period, moisture removal from the banana samples varied between 110 and 400 g/h.     

Annual performance analysis and thermal modelling of passive solar still for different inclinations of condensing cover

This paper reports the annual as well as seasonal performance analysis of single‐slope passive solar stills having three different inclinations of condensing cover, namely 15, 30 and 45°. The analysis is based on the experiments conducted throughout the year from June 2004 to May 2005 on one clear day every month. Each experiment has been carried over for 24 h for the New Delhi (Latitude: 28°37′ North and Longitude: 77°13′ East) climatic conditions. It was observed that the 15° inclination of condensing cover gives maximum annual yield and distillation efficiency. The concept of solar fraction has been used for the validation of thermal modelling. The fair agreement has been noted between the values observed experimentally and calculated theoretically for temperatures and yield in all seasons. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparative thermal performance evaluation of an active solar distillation system

In this paper, thermal models of all types of solar collector‐integrated active solar stills are developed based on basic energy balance equations in terms of inner and outer glass temperatures. In this paper, hourly yield, hourly exergy efficiency, and hourly overall thermal efficiency of active solar stills are evaluated for 0.05 m water depth. All numerical computations had been performed for a typical day in the month of 07 December 2005 for the climatic conditions of New Delhi (28°35′N, 77°12′E, 216 m above MSL). The thermal model of flat‐plate collector integrated with active solar still was validated using the experimental test set‐up results. Total daily yield from active solar still integrated with evacuated tube collector with heat pipe is 4.24 kg m^?2 day^?1, maximum among all other types of active solar stills. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy metrics of photovoltaic/thermal and earth air heat exchanger integrated greenhouse for different climatic conditions of India

In this paper, a study is carried out to evaluate the annual thermal and exergy performance of a photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) and earth air heat exchanger (EAHE) system, integrated with a greenhouse, located at IIT Delhi, India, for different climatic conditions of Srinagar, Mumbai, Jodhpur, New Delhi and Bangalore. A comparison is made of various energy metrics, such as energy payback time (EPBT), electricity production factor (EPF) and life cycle conversion efficiency (LCCE) of the system by considering four weather conditions (a–d type) for five climatic zones. The embodied energy and annual energy outputs have been used for evaluation of the energy metrics. The annual overall thermal energy, annual electrical energy savings and annual exergy was found to be best for the climatic condition of Jodhpur at 29,156.8 kWh, 1185 kWh and 1366.4 kWh, respectively when compared with other weather stations covered in the study, due to higher solar intensity I and sunshine hours, and is lowest for Srinagar station. The results also showed that energy payback time for Jodhpur station is lowest at 16.7 years and highest for Srinagar station at 21.6 years. Electricity production factor (EPF) is highest for Jodhpur, i.e. 2.04 and Life cycle conversion efficiency (LCCE) is highest for Srinagar station. It is also observed that LCCE increases with increase in life cycle.     

Analysis of PV/T flat plate water collectors connected in series

Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) technology refers to the integration of a PV and a conventional solar thermal collector in a single piece of equipment. In this paper we evaluate the performance of partially covered flat plate water collectors connected in series using theoretical modeling. PV is used to run the DC motor, which circulates the water in a forced mode. Analytical expressions for N collectors connected in series are derived by using basic energy balance equations and computer based thermal models. This paper shows the detailed analysis of thermal energy, exergy and electrical energy yield by varying the number of collectors by considering four weather conditions (a, b, c and d type) for five different cities (New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Srinagar, and Jodhpur) of India. Annual thermal and electrical energy yield is also evaluated for four different series and parallel combination of collectors for comparison purpose considering New Delhi conditions. This paper also gives the total carbon credit earned by the hybrid PV/T water heater investigated as per norms of Kyoto Protocol for New Delhi climatic conditions. Cost analysis has also been carried out.It is observed that the collectors partially covered by PV module combines the production of hot water and electricity generation and it is beneficial for the users whose primary requirement is hot water production and collectors fully covered by PV is beneficial for the users whose primary requirement is electricity generation. We have also found that if this type of system is installed only in 10% of the total residential houses in Delhi then the total carbon credit earned by PV/T water heaters in terms of thermal energy is USD $144.5 millions per annum and in terms of exergy is USD $14.3 millions per annum, respectively.     

Performance analysis of a hybrid photovoltaic thermal double pass air collector using ANN

This paper presents the use of artificial neural network for performance analysis of a semi transparent hybrid photovoltaic thermal double pass air collector for four weather conditions (a, b, c and d type) of New Delhi. The MATLAB 7.1 neural networks toolbox has been used for defining and training of ANN for calculations of thermal energy, electrical energy, overall thermal energy and overall exergy. The ANN model uses ambient air temperature, global solar radiation, diffuse radiation and number of clear days as input parameters for four weather conditions. The transfer function, neural network configuration and learning parameters have been selected based on highest convergence during training and testing of network. About 2000 sets of data from four weather stations (Bangalore, Mumbai, Srinagar, and Jodhpur) have been given as input for training and data of the fifth weather station (New Delhi) has been used for testing purpose. It has been observed that the best transfer function for a given configuration is logsig. The feedforward back-propagation algorithm has been used in this analysis. Further the results of ANN model have been compared with analytical values on the basis of root mean square error.     

Simulation model of the thermal performance of a natural convection-type solar tunnel dryer

The basic objective of this paper is to develop a comprehensive simulation model of the thermal performance of solar tunnel dryer. The model is useful in system design as it is sensitive to the design parameters of air collector and dryer (like, length, radius, tunnel tilt, etc.). It is also useful in determining the drying behaviour of high-moisture products (vegetables, fruits, etc.) as well as low-moisture products (barely, wheat, etc.). The performance of the dryer has been estimated for a natural convection mode flow. A transient one-dimensional model was developed for the dryer and the numerical calculations were made for the climate of Delhi. It is observed that a large quantity of barley about 2135 kg can be dried in this dryer within two days of operation upto an equilibrium moisture content. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Performance evaluation of hybrid PV/thermal water/air heating system: A parametric study

In this paper, a thermal model of an integrated photovoltaic and thermal solar (IPVTS) water/air heating system has been developed. An analytical expression for the temperature of solar cell and water and an overall thermal efficiency of IPVTS system have been derived as a function of climatic and design parameters. Numerical computations have been carried out for composite climate of New Delhi for parametric studies. Four configurations, namely (a) unglazed with tedlar (UGT), (b) glazed with tedlar (GT), (c) unglazed without tedlar (UGWT) and (d) glazed without tedlar (GWT) have been considered. Comparison of the IPVTS system with water and air heater has also been carried out. It is found that the characteristic daily efficiency of IPVTS system with water is higher than with air for all configurations except GWT. It is also observed that an overall thermal efficiency of IPVTS system for summer and winter conditions is about 65% and 77%, respectively.     

An experimental study of hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PV/T)-active solar still

In this paper a new self-sustainable hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PV/T)-integrated-active solar still has been designed and tested for composite climate at I.I.T. New Delhi (28°32′N, 77°12′E). The PV system is used to generate electricity to run the pump (60 W and 18 V) as well as thermal energy to heat the water in the collector. The proposed design of hybrid-active solar still can be used at any remote location because of its self-sustainability. The experiments were performed on the set-up for different water depths and for different running duration of the pump. It has been observed that the hybrid-active solar still gives a higher yield (more than 3.5 times) than the passive solar still. It has also been observed that the daily distillate yield and thermal efficiency of the hybrid-active solar still remain almost the same for all water depths in the basin by reducing the daily running period of the pump from 9 to 5 h. This running period of the pump reduced saves 43% of the power used to run the pump with 9 h running, without affecting the performance of the solar still. This work also deals with exergy analysis of the system. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of solar radiation and its application for photovoltaic/thermal air collector for Indian composite climate

In this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate cloudiness/haziness and atmospheric transmittance factors for the composite climate of New Delhi, India by considering the hourly data of global and diffuse radiation obtained for (i) the city region, experimentally observed and (ii) the flat land region obtained from the Department of Indian Meteorology, Pune. Cloudiness/haziness factor for the two models have been determined using simple regression analysis for clear sky condition for New Delhi. The comparison between the cloudiness/haziness and atmospheric transmittance factors for the composite climate of New Delhi for both the models and regions have been made. It has been observed that the cloudiness/haziness and atmospheric transmittance factors obtained by both models gave fair agreement within an accuracy of 0.57%. It has also been observed that there is a significant effect of region on beam and diffuse radiation due to cloudiness/haziness factors as expected. Further the data of solar radiation obtained from the Department of Indian Meteorology, Pune, have been used to evaluate the monthly performance of photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) air collector. It has been found that an overall thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency of PV/T air collector were about 50 and 14%, respectively. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Life cycle cost analysis of HPVT air collector under different Indian climatic conditions

In this communication, a study is carried out to evaluate an annual thermal and exergy efficiency of a hybrid photovoltaic thermal (HPVT) air collector for different Indian climate conditions, of Srinagar, Mumbai, Jodhpur, New Delhi and Banglore. The study has been based on electrical, thermal and exergy output of the HPVT air collector. Further, the life cycle analysis in terms of cost/kWh has been carried out. The main focus of the study is to see the effect of interest rate, life of the HPVT air collector, subsidy, etc. on the cost/kWh HPVT air collector. A comparison is made keeping in view the energy matrices. The study reveals that (i) annual thermal and electrical efficiency decreases with increase in solar radiation and (ii) the cost/kWh is higher in case of exergy when compared with cost/kWh on the basis of thermal energy for all climate conditions. The cost/kWh for climate conditions of Jodhpur is most economical.     

Development of new solar exergy maps

In this paper, we develop a solar exergy map concept and conduct a comprehensive case study to show how it is utilized and how it is significant for practical solar applications. Based on the exergy content of the solar radiation, the performance of a photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) system is evaluated for different Indian cities, namely Bangalore (latitude 12°58′N, longitude 77°38′E), Jodhpur (latitude 26°18′N, longitude 73°04′E), Mumbai (latitude 18°55′N, longitude 72°54′E), New Delhi (latitude 28°35′N, longitude 77°12′E) and Srinagar (latitude 34°08′N, longitude 74°51′E) for a year and for different cities of U.S.A., namely Chicago (latitude 41°50′N, longitude 87°37′W), Las Vegas (latitude 36°10′N, longitude 115°12′W), Miami (latitude 25°46′N, longitude 80°12′W), New York (latitude 40°47′N, longitude 73°58′E), Portland (latitude 43°40′N, longitude 70°15′W), San Antonio (latitude 29°23′N, longitude 98°33′W), San Francisco (latitude 37°47′N, longitude 122°26′W), Tucson (latitude 32°7′N, longitude 110°56′W) and Tulsa (latitude 36°09′N, longitude 95°59′W) for different months of January, April, June and October. For the first time, the development of exergy maps for the exergy of solar radiation as well as the exergy efficiency of PV/T system is done for the above‐mentioned Indian and American climatic conditions. It is found that the predicted exergy efficiency is in good agreement with the experimental results for the climatic conditions of New Delhi, India. It is observed that the average exergy efficiency is highest in Bangalore from January (28%) to April (32.6%) and from September (32.5%) to December (32.4%) and it is highest in Srinagar from May (29.5%) to August (26.8%) for Indian climatic conditions and for American climatic conditions, the PV/T system gives the best performance in terms of exergy efficiency in Las Vegas (32%) and Tucson (32.5–31.5%) in April and June. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of solar fraction (Fn) for the north wall of a controlled environment greenhouse: an experimental validation

In this communication, an attempt has been made to define and evaluate the solar fraction (F_n) for a north wall on the basis of annual experimental studies. An even‐span greenhouse has been considered for experimental studies for the climatic conditions of Delhi. Experiments were conducted from September 1999 to August 2000. A model based on Auto‐CAD 2000 has also been developed for validation. It has been observed that the solar fraction mainly depends on angle of incidence, solar altitude angle and shape and size of the greenhouse. It is inferred that solar fraction (F_n) plays a significant role in thermal modelling of an even‐span type greenhouse. Further, it was noted that there is a fair agreement between experimental and theoretical results. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solar dryer with thermal storage and biomass-backup heater

An indirect type natural convection solar dryer with integrated collector-storage solar and biomass-backup heaters has been designed, constructed and evaluated. The major components of the dryer are biomass burner (with a rectangular duct and flue gas chimney), collector-storage thermal mass and drying chamber (with a conventional solar chimney). The thermal mass was placed in the top part of the biomass burner enclosure. The dryer was fabricated using simple materials, tools and skills, and it was tested in three modes of operation (solar, biomass and solar–biomass) by drying twelve batches of fresh pineapple (Ananas comosus), with each batch weighing about 20 kg. Meteorological conditions were monitored during the dehydration process. Moisture and vitamin C contents were determined in both fresh and dried samples. Results show that the thermal mass was capable of storing part of the absorbed solar energy and heat from the burner. It was possible to dry a batch of pineapples using solar energy only on clear days. Drying proceeded successfully even under unfavorable weather conditions in the solar–biomass mode of operation. In this operational mode, the dryer reduced the moisture content of pineapple slices from about 669 to 11% (db) and yielded a nutritious dried product. The average values of the final-day moisture-pickup efficiency were 15%, 11% and 13% in the solar, biomass and solar–biomass modes of operation respectively. It appears that the solar dryer is suitable for preservation of pineapples and other fresh foods. Further improvements to the system design are suggested.