Design concept and mathematical model of a bi-fluid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collector

This paper presents an improved design of a photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collector integrating a PV panel with a serpentine-shaped copper tube as the water heating component and a single pass air channel as the air heating component. In addition to the electricity generated, this type of collector enables the production of both hot air and water, increasing the total efficiency per unit area compared to the conventional PV/T solar collector. The use of both fluids (bi-fluid) also creates a greater range of thermal applications and offers options in which hot and/or cold air and/or water can be utilized depending on the energy needs and applications. In this paper, the design concept of the bi-fluid PV/T solar collector is emphasized with 2D steady state energy balance equations for the bi-fluid configuration are developed, validated and used to predict the performance of the bi-fluid solar collector for a range of mass flow rates of air and water. The performance of the collector is then compared when the fluids are operated independently and simultaneously. The simulations indicate that when both fluids are operated independently the overall thermal and electrical performance of the solar collector is considered as satisfactory and when operated simultaneously the overall performance is higher. The bi-fluid PV/T solar collector discussed in this paper will add insights to the new knowledge of optimizing the utilization of solar energy by a PV/T solar collector and has potential applications in various fields.     

非晶硅太阳能光伏/光热空气集热器性能对比实验研究

文章设计了新型非晶硅太阳能PV/T空气集热器,该空气集热器能够解决传统太阳能PV/T热水器在高温波动情况下,晶硅电池热应力大的问题,同时避免了冬季管道发生霜冻的现象。文章通过实验对比,分析了非晶硅太阳能PV/T空气集热器、单独非晶硅光伏电池和传统太阳能空气集热器的能量效率和[火用]效率的差异。分析结果表明:非晶硅太阳能PV/T空气集热器的平均热效率为45.70%,比传统太阳能空气集热器的平均热效率降低了约25.88%;当空气质量流量增大至0.048 kg/s时,非晶硅太阳能PV/T空气集热器中的非晶硅光伏电池的平均电效率高于单独非晶硅光伏电池,它们的平均电效率分别为4.70%,4.54%;非晶硅太阳能PV/T空气集热器的总[火用]效率高于传统太阳能空气集热器的热[火用]效率和单独非晶硅光伏电池的电[火用]效率,非晶硅太阳能PV/T空气集热器总[火用]效率最大值为7.14%。文章的分析结果为非晶硅太阳能PV/T空气集热器的推广提供了参考。     

Performance evaluation of solar photovoltaic/thermal systems

The major purpose of the present study is to understand the performance of an integrated photovoltaic and thermal solar system (IPVTS) as compared to a conventional solar water heater and to demonstrate the idea of an IPVTS design. A commercial polycrystalline PV module is used for making a PV/T collector. The PV/T collector is used to build an IPVTS. The test results show that the solar PV/T collector made from a corrugated polycarbonate panel can obtain a good thermal efficiency. The present study introduces the concept of primary-energy saving efficiency for the evaluation of a PV/T system. The primary-energy saving efficiency of the present IPVTS exceeds 0.60. This is higher than for a pure solar hot water heater or a pure PV system. The characteristic daily efficiency η_s* reaches 0.38 which is about 76% of the value for a conventional solar hot water heater using glazed collectors (η_s*=0.50). The performance of a PV/T collector can be improved if the heat-collecting plate, the PV cells and the glass cover are directly packed together to form a glazed collector. The manufacturing cost of the PV/T collector and the system cost of the IPVTS can also be reduced. The present study shows that the idea of IPVTS is economically feasible too.     

Advances in liquid based photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors

In order to get more power and heat from PV/T system, it is necessary to cool the PV cell and decrease its temperature. This is not an easy task especially in hot and humid climate areas. There is a lack of an effective cooling strategy of PV/T panels. The liquid based photovoltaic thermal collector systems are practically more desirable and effective than air based systems. Temperature fluctuation in liquid based PV/T is much less than the air based PV/T collectors which subjected to variation in solar radiation levels. In this study a review of the available literature on PV/T collector systems which utilize water and refrigerant (working fluid) as heat removal medium for different applications has been conducted. Future direction of water-cooled and refrigerant hybrid photovoltaic thermal systems was presented. This study revealed that the direct expansion solar-assisted heat pump system achieved better cooling effect of the PV/T collector.     

An improved thermal and electrical model for a solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) air collector

In this paper, an attempt is made to investigate the thermal and electrical performance of a solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) air collector. A detailed thermal and electrical model is developed to calculate the thermal and electrical parameters of a typical PV/T air collector. The thermal and electrical parameters of a PV/T air collector include solar cell temperature, back surface temperature, outlet air temperature, open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, maximum power point voltage, maximum power point current, etc. Some corrections are done on heat loss coefficients in order to improve the thermal model of a PV/T air collector. A better electrical model is used to increase the calculations precision of PV/T air collector electrical parameters. Unlike the conventional electrical models used in the previous literature, the electrical model presented in this paper can estimate the electrical parameters of a PV/T air collector such as open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, maximum power point voltage, and maximum power point current. Further, an analytical expression for the overall energy efficiency of a PV/T air collector is derived in terms of thermal, electrical, design and climatic parameters. A computer simulation program is developed in order to calculate the thermal and electrical parameters of a PV/T air collector. The results of numerical simulation are in good agreement with the experimental measurements noted in the previous literature. Finally, parametric studies have been carried out. Since some corrections have been down on thermal and electrical models, it is observed that the thermal and electrical simulation results obtained in this paper is more precise than the one given by the previous literature. It is also found that the thermal efficiency, electrical efficiency and overall energy efficiency of PV/T air collector is about 17.18%, 10.01% and 45%, respectively, for a sample climatic, operating and design parameters.     

Aspects and improvements of hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar energy systems

Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T or PVT) solar systems consist of PV modules coupled to water or air heat extraction devices, which convert the absorbed solar radiation into electricity and heat. At the University of Patras, an extended research on PV/T systems has been performed aiming at the study of several modifications for system performance improvement. In this paper a new type of PV/T collector with dual heat extraction operation, either with water or with air circulation is presented. This system is simple and suitable for building integration, providing hot water or air depending on the season and the thermal needs of the building. Experiments with dual type PV/T models of alternative arrangement of the water and the air heat exchanging elements were performed. The most effective design was further studied, applying to it low cost modifications for the air heat extraction improvement. These modifications include a thin metallic sheet placed in the middle of the air channel, the mounting of fins on the opposite wall to PV rear surface of the air channel and the placement of the sheet combined with small ribs on the opposite air channel wall. The modified dual PV/T collectors were combined with booster diffuse reflectors, achieving a significant increase in system thermal and electrical energy output. The improved PV/T systems have aesthetic and energy advantages and could be used instead of separate installation of plain PV modules and thermal collectors, mainly if the available building surface is limited and the thermal needs are associated with low temperature water or air heating.     

Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems simulation with Simulink/Matlab

The purpose of this work consists in thermodynamic modeling of hybrid photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) solar systems, pursuing a modular strategy approach provided by Simulink/Matlab.PV/T solar systems are a recently emerging solar technology that allows for the simultaneous conversion of solar energy into both electricity and heat. This type of technology present some interesting advantages over the conventional “side-by-side” thermal and PV solar systems, such as higher combined electrical/thermal energy outputs per unit area, and a more uniform and aesthetical pleasant roof area. Despite the fact that early research on PV/T systems can be traced back to the seventies, only recently it has gained a renewed impetus. In this work, parametric studies and annual transient simulations of PV/T systems are undertaken in Simulink/Matlab. The obtained results show an average annual solar fraction of 67%, and a global overall efficiency of 24% (i.e. 15% thermal and 9% electrical), for a typical four-person single-familiar residency in Lisbon, with p-Si cells, and a collector area of 6 m². A sensitivity analysis performed on the PV/T collector suggests that the most important variable that should be addressed to improve thermal performance is the photovoltaic (PV) module emittance. Based on those results, some additional improvements are proposed, such as the use of vacuum, or a noble gas at low-pressure, to allow for the removal of PV cells encapsulation without air oxidation and degradation, and thus reducing the PV module emittance. Preliminary results show that this option allows for an 8% increase on optical thermal efficiency, and a substantial reduction of thermal losses, suggesting the possibility of working at higher fluid temperatures. The higher working temperatures negative effect in electrical efficiency was negligible, due to compensation by improved optical properties. The simulation results are compared with experimental data obtained from other authors and perform reasonably well.The Simulink modeling platform has been mainly used worldwide on simulation of control systems, digital signal processing and electric circuits, but there are very few examples of application to solar energy systems modeling. This work uses the modular environment of Simulink/Matlab to model individual PV/T system components, and to assemble the entire installation layout. The results show that the modular approach strategy provided by Matlab/Simulink environment is applicable to solar systems modeling, providing good code scalability, faster developing time, and simpler integration with external computational tools, when compared with traditional imperative-oriented programming languages.     

Performance evaluation of a hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) (glass-to-glass) system

In this paper, an attempt is made to evaluate the thermal performance of a hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) air collector system. The two type of photovoltaic (PV) module namely PV module with glass-to-tedlar and glass-to-glass are considered for performance comparison. The results of both PV modules are compared for composite climate of New Delhi. Analytical expression for solar cell, back surface, outlet air temperatures and an overall thermal efficiency are derived for both cases. It is observed that hybrid air collector with PV module glass-to-glass gives better performance in terms of overall thermal efficiency. Parametric studies are also carried out.     

Thermal analysis of PV/T evaporator of a solar-assisted heat pump

The performance of photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collector had been studied theoretically and experimentally for some years. Air and water streams were used as the heat carriers for space heating or services hot water systems. The cooling effect allows the PV module to work at lower temperature and its PV efficiency is therefore improved. However, such an advantage diminishes when the solar irradiance is high. To improve the situation a new type of PV/T collector is proposed. It works as the evaporator of a heat pump, in that refrigerant evaporates in the tubing at the back of the flat-plate collector and the PV module is adhered to the front surface. Mathematical models were developed to simulate the complex energy conversion processes. Numerical analysis was then performed based on the distributed parameters approach. An experimental rig was also built to test its real performance. Our results showed that the PV/T evaporator had an overall efficiency in the range of 0.64–0.87, thermal efficiency 0.53–0.64 and PV efficiency 0.124–0.135. The simulation results were found in good agreement with the experiment measurements. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

一种新型全铝扁盒式PV/T热水系统

将单晶硅光伏电池与全铝扁盒式太阳能热水器集热板通过特殊工艺粘结起来,制成了一套自然循环式光伏光热一体化(PV/T)系统,在利用太阳能发电的同时提供热水。于04年7月-10月在合肥地区进行了室外实验,测试并讨论了该系统以不同水量和不同初始水温运行时的光电光热性能。结果表明,当m/Ac>80kg/m2时,这种PV/T热水系统的发电效率在10.15%左右,热效率在50%左右,光电光热总效率可以达到60%左右,光电光热综合性能效率可以达到70%左右。相对于单纯的光伏系统或自然循环式太阳能热水系统,这种PV/T热水系统具有占地面积小、综合效率高等优点。     

Advancement in solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) hybrid collector technology

This article presents an overview on the research and development and application aspects for the hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector systems. A major research and development work on the photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) hybrid technology has been done since last 30 years. Different types of solar thermal collector and new materials for PV cells have been developed for efficient solar energy utilization. The solar energy conversion into electricity and heat with a single device (called hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) collector) is a good advancement for future energy demand. This review presents the trend of research and development of technological advancement in photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) solar collectors and its useful applications like as solar heating, water desalination, solar greenhouse, solar still, photovoltaic-thermal solar heat pump/air-conditioning system, building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPVT) and solar power co-generation.     

Optimal design of orientation of PV/T collector with reflectors

Hybrid conversion of solar radiation implies simultaneous solar radiation conversion into thermal and electrical energy in the PV/Thermal collector. In order to get more thermal and electrical energy, flat solar radiation reflectors have been mounted on PV/T collector. To obtain higher solar radiation intensity on PV/T collector, position of reflectors has been changed and optimal position of reflectors has been determined by both experimental measurements and numerical calculation so as to obtain maximal concentration of solar radiation intensity. The calculated values have been found to be in good agreement with the measured ones, both yielding the optimal position of the flat reflector to be the lowest (5°) in December and the highest (38°) in June. In this paper, the thermal and electrical efficiency of PV/T collector without reflectors and with reflectors in optimal position have been calculated. Using these results, the total efficiency and energy-saving efficiency of PV/T collector have been determined. Energy-saving efficiency for PV/T collector without reflectors is 60.1%, which is above the conventional solar thermal collector, whereas the energy-saving efficiency for PV/T collector with reflectors in optimal position is 46.7%, which is almost equal to the values for conventional solar thermal collector. Though the energy-saving efficiency of PV/T collector decreases slightly with the solar radiation intensity concentration factor, i.e. the thermal and electrical efficiency of PV/T collector with reflectors are lower than those of PV/T collector without reflectors, the total thermal and electrical energy generated by PV/T collector with reflectors in optimal position are significantly higher than total thermal and electrical energy generated by PV/T collector without reflectors.     

Energy performance of water hybrid PV/T collectors applied to combisystems of Direct Solar Floor type

The integration of photovoltaic (PV) modules in buildings allows one to consider a multifunctional frame and then to reduce the cost by substitution of components. In order to limit the rise of the cell operating temperature, a photovoltaics/thermal (PV/T) collector combines a solar water heating collector and PV cells. The recovered heat energy can be used for heating systems and domestic hot water. A combination with a Direct Solar Floor is studied. Its low operating temperature level is appropriate for the operating conditions of the mono- or poly-crystalline photovoltaic modules which are selected in that study. However, for a system including a glass covered collector and localised in Mâcon area in France, we show that the annual photovoltaic cell efficiency is 6.8% which represents a decrease of 28% in comparison with a conventional non-integrated PV module of 9.4% annual efficiency. This is obviously due to a temperature increase related to the cover. On the other hand, we show that without a glass cover, the efficiency is 10% which is 6% better than a standard module due to the cooling effect.Moreover, in the case of a glazed PV/T collector with a conventional control system for Direct Solar Floor, the maximum temperature reached at the level of the PV modules is higher than 100 °C. This is due to the oversize of the collectors during the summer when the heating needs are null, i.e. without a heated swimming pool for example. This temperature level does not allow the use of EVA resin (ethylene vinyl acetate) in PV modules due to strong risks of degradation. The current solution consists of using amorphous cells or, if we do not enhance the thermal production, uncovered PV/T collector. Further research led to water hybrid PV/T solar collectors as a one-piece component, both reliable and efficient, and including the thermal absorber, the heat exchanger and the photovoltaic functions.     

Air-cooled PV/T solar collectors with low cost performance improvements

Excess temperatures on installed photovoltaic (PV) modules lead to efficiency loss and PV cooling protects them from this undesirable efficiency drop. Both water and air have been used for PV cooling through a thermal unit attached to the back of the module yielding photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector, but air is preferred due to minimal use of material and low operating cost despite its poor thermo-physical properties. This study investigates the performance of two low cost heat extraction improvement modifications in the channel of a PV/T air system to achieve higher thermal output and PV cooling so as to keep the electrical efficiency at acceptable level. The use of thin flat metal sheet suspended at the middle or finned back wall of an air channel in the PV/T air configuration are the suggested methods. A theoretical model is developed and validated against experimental data, where good agreement between the predicted results and measured data were achieved. The validated model was then used to study the effect of the channel depth, channel length and mass flow rate on electrical and thermal efficiency, PV cooling and pressure drop for both improved and typical PV/T air systems and their results were compared. Both experimental and theoretical results show that the suggested modifications improve the performance of the PV/T air system.     

Performance analysis of a double-pass photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collector with CPC and fins

The use of PV/T in combination with concentrating reflectors has a potential to significantly increase power production from a given solar cell area. A prototype double-pass photovoltaic-thermal solar air collector with CPC and fins has been designed and fabricated and its performance over a range of operating conditions was studied. The absorber of the hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector under investigation consists of an array of solar cells for generating electricity, compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) to increase the radiation intensity falling on the solar cells and fins attached to the back side of the absorber plate to improve heat transfer to the flowing air. Energy balance equations have been developed for the various nodes of the system. Both thermal and electrical performance of the collector are presented and discussed.     

Exergetic optimization of a solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) air collector

In this paper, an exergetic optimization has been developed to determine the optimal performance and design parameters of a solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) air collector. A detailed energy and exergy analysis has been carried out to calculate the thermal and electrical parameters, exergy components, and exergy efficiency of a typical PV/T air collector. The thermal and electrical parameters of a PV/T air collector include solar cell temperature, back surface temperature, outlet air temperature, open‐circuit voltage, short‐circuit current, maximum power point voltage, maximum power point current, etc. An improved electrical model has been used to estimate the electrical parameters of a PV/T air collector. Furthermore, a new equation for the exergy efficiency of a PV/T air collector has been derived in terms of design and climatic parameters. A computer simulation program has been also developed to calculate the thermal and electrical parameters of a PV/T air collector. The results of numerical simulation are in good agreement with the experimental measurements noted in the previous literature. Moreover, the simulation results obtained in this paper are more precise than the one given by the previous literature, and the new exergy efficiency obtained in this paper is in good agreement with the one given by the previous literature. Finally, exergetic optimization has been carried out under given climatic, operating, and design parameters. The optimized values of inlet air velocity, duct length, and the maximum exergy efficiency have been found. Parametric studies have been also carried out. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Field study of various air based photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar collectors

In the present work a comparative study for thermal and electrical performance of different hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collectors designs for Iraq climate conditions have been carried out. Four different types of air based hybrid PV/T collectors have been manufactured and tested. Three collectors consist of four main parts namely, channel duct, glass cover, axial fan to circulate air and two PV panels in parallel connection. The measured parameters are, the temperature of the upper and the lower surfaces of the PV panels, air temperature along the collector, air flow rate, pressure drop, power produced by solar cell, and climate conditions such as wind speed, solar radiation and ambient temperature. The thermal and hydraulic performances of PV/T collector model IV have been analyzed theoretically based on energy balance. A Matlab computer program has been developed to solve the proposed mathematical model.The obtained results show that the combined efficiency of collector model III (double duct, single pass) is higher than that of model II (single duct double pass) and model IV (single duct single pass). Model IV has the better electrical efficiency. The pressure drop of model III is lower than that of models II and IV. The root mean square of percentage deviations for PV outlet temperature, and thermal efficiency of model IV are found to be 3.22%, and 18.04% respectively. The calculated linear coefficients of correlation (r) are 0.977, 0.965 respectively.     

A sensitivity study of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal water-heating system with natural circulation

A flat-box aluminum-alloy photovoltaic and water-heating system designed for natural circulation was constructed. The hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector was an integration of single-crystalline silicon cells into a solar thermal collector. The product was able to generate electricity and hot water simultaneously. Outdoor tests on an improved prototype were conducted in a moderate climate zone. Then dynamic simulation runs, using a validated numerical model, were performed. These included sensitivity tests with variations of the system water mass, PV cell covering factor, and front glazing transmissivity. The test results showed that the characteristic daily primary-energy saving could reach up to 65% for this system with a PV cell covering factor 0.63 and front glazing transmissivity of 0.83, when the hot water load per unit heat-collecting area exceeded 80 kg/m². The simulated results indicated that the higher the PV cell covering factor and the glazing transmissivity, the better the overall system performance. The effects were quantified.     

Optimization of a solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) water collector based on exergy concept

In this paper, the optimization of a solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) water collector which is based on exergy concept is carried out. Considering energy balance for different components of PV/T collector, we can obtain analytical expressions for thermal parameters (i.e. solar cells temperature, outlet water temperature, useful absorbed heat rate, average water temperature, thermal efficiency, etc.). Thermal analysis of PV/T collector depends on electrical analysis of it; therefore, five-parameter current–voltage (I–V) model is used to obtain electrical parameters (i.e. open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, voltage and current at the point which has maximum electrical power, electrical efficiency, etc.). In order to obtain exergy efficiency of PV/T collector we need exergy analysis as well as energy analysis. Considering exergy balance for different components of PV/T collector, we obtain the expressions which show the exergy of the different parts of PV/T collector. Some corrections have been done on the above expressions in order to obtain a modified equation for the exergy efficiency of PV/T water collector. A computer simulation program has been developed in order to obtain the amount of thermal and electrical parameters. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental data of previous literature. Genetic algorithm (GA) has been used to optimize the exergy efficiency of PV/T water collector. Optimum inlet water velocity and pipe diameter are 0.09 m s⁻¹, 4.8 mm, respectively. Maximum exergy efficiency is 11.36%. Finally, some parametric studies have been done in order to find the effect of climatic parameters on exergy efficiency.