A numerical modeling of hybrid photovoltaic/thermal(PV/T)collector

Abstract

Currently, the conventional photo-voltaic (PV) systems suffer from the low electrical efficiency due to the operating temperature increase. Indeed, the photo-voltaic module only converts a small part of the absorbed radiation into electricity, with a greater part into heat, increasing its temperature and decreasing its electrical efficiency. The hybrid photo-voltaic/thermal (PV/T) technology offers opportunities that combine a simultaneous conversion of solar radiation into electricity and heat. These devices consist of PV modules and heat extraction units mounted together, by which a circulating fluid of lower temperature than that of PV modules which is heated by cooling them. In this paper, a numerical model of a hybrid photo-voltaic/thermal (PV/T) is being developed. This model is based on the energy balance equations and allows finding the temperature profile across the different layers of the PV/T collector. The electrical performance of the PV/T system is compared to the photo-voltaic panel (PV), and it is found to be higher than the panel PV module. The effect of the water mass flow rate m on the electrical performances of the PV/T is also studied in this work.