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.