Performance evaluation of solar PV/T system: An experimental validation

In this communication, an attempt has been made to develop a thermal model of an integrated photovoltaic and thermal solar (IPVTS) system developed by previous researchers. Based on energy balance of each component of IPVTS system, an analytical expression for the temperature of PV module and the water have been derived. Numerical computations have been carried out for climatic data and design parameters of an experimental IPVTS system. The simulations predict a daily thermal efficiency of around 58%, which is very close to the experimental value (61.3%) obtained by Huang et al.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Thermo-environ study of a concentrated photovoltaic thermal system integrated with Kalina cycle for multigeneration and hydrogen production

Unlike steam and gas cycles, the Kalina cycle system can utilize low-grade heat to produce electricity with water-ammonia solution and other mixed working fluids with similar thermal properties. Concentrated photovoltaic thermal systems have proven to be a technology that can be used to maximize solar energy conversion and utilization. In this study, the integration of Kalina cycle with a concentrated photovoltaic thermal system for multigeneration and hydrogen production is investigated. The purpose of this research is to develop a system that can generate more electricity from a solar photovoltaic thermal/Kalina system hybridization while multigeneration and producing hydrogen. With this aim, two different system configurations are modeled and presented in this study to compare the performance of a concentrated photovoltaic thermal integrated multigeneration system with and without a Kalina system. The modeled systems will generate hot water, hydrogen, hot air, electricity, and cooling effect with photovoltaic cells, a Kalina cycle, a hot water tank, a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, a single effect absorption system, and a hot air tank. The environmental benefit of two multigeneration systems modeled in terms of carbon emission reduction and fossil fuel savings is also studied. The energy and exergy efficiencies of the heliostat used in concentrating solar radiation onto the photovoltaic thermal system are 90% and 89.5% respectively, while the hydrogen production from the two multigeneration system configurations is 10.6 L/s. The concentrated photovoltaic thermal system has a 74% energy efficiency and 45.75% exergy efficiency, while the hot air production chamber has an 85% and 62.3% energy and exergy efficiencies, respectively. Results from this study showed that the overall energy efficiency of the multigeneration system increases from 68.73% to 70.08% with the integration of the Kalina system. Also, an additional 417 kW of electricity is produced with the integration of the Kalina system and this justifies the importance of the configuration. The production of hot air at the condensing stage of the photovoltaic thermal/Kalina hybrid system is integral to the overall performance of the system.     

Experimental validation of glazed hybrid micro-channel solar cell thermal tile

In this communication, an attempt has been made to evaluate the theoretical performance of a glazed hybrid micro-channel solar cell thermal (MCSCT) tile. Experiment has been performed in indoor condition and it has been observed that there is good agreement between theoretical and experimental values with correlation coefficient and root mean square percentage deviation in range of 0.995–0.998 and 3.21–4.50 respectively. Effect of design parameters on different combination (series and parallel) of glazed hybrid MCSCT tile for Srinagar climatic condition, India has also been evaluated. The theoretical results of glazed hybrid micro-channel photovoltaic thermal (MCPVT) module for 75 W_p have been compared with the result of single channel photovoltaic thermal (SCPVT) module. The average value of electrical and thermal efficiency of glazed hybrid MCPVT module are 14.7% and 10.8% respectively which is significantly higher than SCPVT module. The overall annual exergy efficiency based on second law of thermodynamics has also been evaluated at different mass flow rate for glazed hybrid MCPVT module for Srinagar climatic condition. It has been observed that maximum overall exergy efficiency is 20.28% at 0.000108 kg/s mass flow rate.     

Transient analysis of closed loop solar water heating system

This paper presents a simplified transient analysis of a forced-circulation solar water heating system with a heat exchanger in the collector loop. Besides two modes of hot water withdrawal viz constant flow and constant collection temperature; the paper also studies the effectiveness of the flow through the heat exchanger and its length. The system performance has been further studied by considering different timings of starting hot water withdrawal. Calculations have been made for a typical cold day (26 January 1980) in New Delhi.     

Energy and exergy analysis of hybrid photovoltaic thermal water collector for constant collection temperature mode

This paper deals with the analysis of hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) water collectors under constant collection temperature mode unlike constant flow rate mode. The analysis has been carried out in terms of thermal energy, electrical energy and exergy gain for two different configurations namely case A (collector partially covered by PV module) and case B (collector fully covered by PV module). The results are compared with the conventional flat plate collector (FPC). The effect of collector area covered by PV module on the performance of hybrid PVT water collector has been studied. The characteristic equations have also been developed for both the cases.It has been observed that case A is more favorable for thermal energy point of view, while case B is suitable for electricity generation. On the basis of the numerical calculations the annual thermal energy gain is found to be 4167.3 and 1023.7 and annual net electrical energy gain is 320.65 and 1377.63 for cases A and B respectively. The annual overall thermal energy gain is decreased by 9.48% and an annual overall exergy gain is increased by 39.16% from case A to case B.     

Energy matrices analyses of hybrid photovoltaic thermal (HPVT) water collector with different PV technology

In this paper, an attempt has been made to evaluate and compare the energy matrices of a hybrid photovoltaic thermal (HPVT) water collector under constant collection temperature mode with five different types of PV modules namely c-Si, p-Si, a-Si (thin film), CdTe and CIGS. The analysis is based on overall thermal energy and exergy outputs from HPVT water collector. The temperature dependent electrical efficiency has also been calculated under composite climate of New Delhi, India.It is observed that c-Si PV module is best alternative for production of electrical power. Maximum annual overall thermal energy and exergy is obtained for c-Si PV module. The maximum and minimum EPBT of 1.01 and 0.66 years on energy basis is obtained for c-Si and CIGS respectively, whereas on exergy basis maximum EPBT of 5.72 years is obtained for a-Si and minimum of 3.44 in obtained for CIGS PV module. EPF and LCCE increase with increasing the life time of the system.     

Performance analysis of a conventional PV/T mixed mode dryer under no load condition

A solar dryer integrated with photovoltaic powered DC fan has been designed and installed at Solar Energy Park, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. The dryer has been coupled to a solar air heater having blackened surface of absorber for improved energy collection efficiency and a drying chamber with chimney. An analytical expression for characteristic equation for photovoltaic/thermal mixed mode dryer has been derived as a function of design and climatic parameters. The experiment was carried out for forced mode under no load conditions during April 2008 and validated with theoretical results for New Delhi climatic condition. This paper also shows the detailed analysis of thermal energy, exergy, and electrical energy gain by considering four weather conditions (a, b, c, and d type) for five different cities (New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Srinagar, and Jodhpur) of India. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance of collector/storage solar water heaters: Arbitrary demand pattern

This paper presents a simple transient model for predicting the thermal performance of two novel water heaters which combine both collection and storage of solar energy in a single configuration. The proposed model is applicable for demand patterns, characteristic of various domestic and industrial applications. The model takes into account the appropriate heat transfer processes during sunshine and off-sunshine hours and predicts, for a particular case, the time dependence of water temperature which is in close agreement with experimental observations. The model also predicts the variation of water temperature for the withdrawal of hot water at constant flow rate. Furthermore, it determines the time dependence of flow rate corresponding to extraction of hot water at constant temperature; this is a desirable situation in process heating and other applications.     

Transient analysis of forced circulation solar water heating system with collectors in series

This communication presents an analysis of the thermal performance of a hot water system consisting of N collectors in series with a storage tank; forced circulation and withdrawal of hot water by displacement with cold water are built into the thermal model. Two modes of withdrawal of hot water, viz. (i) constant flow rate and, (ii) constant hot water temperature (during the day), have been considered. For a quantitative appreciation of the results, numerical calculations have been made for the two modes of hot water withdrawal corresponding to a typical cold day (26 January, 1980) in Delhi.     

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.     

Effect of movable insulation on the performance of ground collector

This communication presents an analysis of the thermal performance of an inexpensive underground solar water heater. The system has been studied under two modes of heat collection (a) constant flow rate and (b) constant collection temperature. The effect of variation of different parameters, viz., flow rate of water, depth of plane of heat retrieval, thickness of flowing water column and duration of insulation on top to prevent night heat losses, has also been discussed.     

Optimizing the energy and exergy of building integrated photovoltaic thermal (BIPVT) systems under cold climatic conditions

Building integrated photovoltaic thermal (BIPVT) system has the potential to become a major source of renewable energy in the urban environment. In this paper, the system has been used as the roof top of a building to generate higher electrical energy per unit area and to produce necessary thermal energy required for space heating. One-dimensional transient model has been developed using basic heat transfer equations. On the basis of this model, an analysis has been carried in order to select an appropriate BIPVT system suitable for the cold climatic conditions of India. The PV performances, net energy gain and exergy of the building are determined. The results show that for a constant mass flow rate of air the system connected in series gives a better performance whereas for a constant velocity of air flow the system connected in parallel gives a better performance. The BIPVT system, fitted on the rooftop in an effective area of 65 m², is capable of annually producing the net electrical and thermal exergies of 16,209 kW h and 1531 kW h, respectively, at an overall thermal efficiency of 53.7%.     

Analysis of natural circulation solar water heating systems

This paper presents an analysis of the performance of a solar water heating system with natural thermosyphon circulation between the collector and the storage tank. The analysis is based on the formulation by Ong except that provision for withdrawal of hot water from the tank (for domestic/ industrial use) has been made in the energy balance equation; further in contrast to the use of the finite difference method by Ong, explicit expressions have been obtained. The results of the present analysis (in the absence of withdrawal of hot water from the tank) are seen to be in better agreement with experiments than the corresponding results of Ong, obtained by use of the finite difference method.

Numerical results, corresponding to hot water retrieved from the storage tank, have been presented for two modes of hot water withdrawal viz. the constant flow rate and constant mean storage tank water temperature.     

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。     

Thermal performance of “still-on-roof” as an inexpensive collection-cum-storage system

A straightforward analysis of a system that consists of a still and the roof of a building, along with a provision for withdrawal of hot water through pipes buried in the roof, has been presented. Withdrawal of hot water has been taken into account for two modes of operation, viz. (1) constant flow rate and (2) constant collection temperature. Some interesting conclusions have been drawn.     

Optimization of number of collectors for integrated PV/T hybrid active solar still

The aim of this paper is to optimize the number of collectors for PV/T hybrid active solar still. The number of PV/T collectors connected in series has been integrated with the basin of solar still. The optimization of number of collectors for different heat capacity of water has been carried out on the basis of energy and exergy. Expressions of inner glass, outer glass and water temperature have been derived for the hybrid active solar system. For the numerical computations data of a summer day (May 22, 2008) for Delhi climatic condition have been used. It has been observed that with increase of the mass of water in the basin increases the optimum number of collector. However the daily and exergy efficiency decreases linearly and nonlinearly with increase of water mass. It has been observed that the maximum yield occurs at N = 4 for 50 kg of water mass on the basis of exergy efficiency. The thermal model has also been experimentally validated.     

Experimental investigation and CFD analysis of a solar hybrid PV/T system for the sustainable development of the rural northern part of Bangladesh

An attempt has been made to utilise solar energy more efficiently by developing the single pass hybrid photovoltaic thermal system at the climatic condition of Bangladesh. As the electric energy conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic module falls with the surrounding temperature and air or water used as a suitable solution to make it cool. In this study, air was used as the cooling medium for the solar panel and circular copper tube was placed on the glazed collector for water heating to ensure maximum exploitation of solar energy. Moreover, the photovoltaic panel power was used to circulate the air and make the system self-powered. Maximum collector efficiency was 24.64% for water and 11.20% for air is observed at a mass flow rate 0.00158 and 0.00221 kg/s for water and air respectively at a solar radiation of 1050 W/m². In addition, the combined efficiency of the hybrid system was about 39.68%. By adding glycerin with water at a ratio of 50:1 (% of weight) the combined efficiency reached up to 45.76%. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation and economic analysis of the designed system strongly support the feasibility of the solar hybrid photovoltaic thermal system as the future sustainable energy source.