Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
Journal of Solar Energy Research Updates

Articles

Vol. 8 (2021)

Experimental Investigation and Theoretical Analysis on the Performance of Tube-Sheet Photovoltaic Thermal (PV/T) Collectors

DOI
https://doi.org/10.31875/2410-2199.2021.08.5
Submitted
September 26, 2021
Published
2021-07-06

Abstract

The PV/T collectors realize the simultaneous output of electricity and thermal energy, which are more efficient than the separated photovoltaic (PV) or solar thermal collectors. In this paper, the electricity generation and thermal collection performances of tube-sheet PV/T collector are studied. The main research contents are as follows: an experimental test system of PV/T collector was built to test the electricity generation and thermal collection performances of tube-sheet PV/T at an inlet water temperature of 30°C. Moreover, the flow resistance test was carried out. In addition, the theoretical heat transfer model was established, and the thermal performance was calculated by theoretical analysis. The experimental data showed that the daily average temperature difference between the PV panel and the inlet water temperature was about 22.5°C. The daily average electrical efficiency was about 9.25%, and the daily average thermal efficiency was about 28.67%. The theoretical analysis of the tube-sheet PV/T model was carried out, and the calculated results were close to the experimental results. The main reason for the large temperature difference between the PV panel and water temperature was that the combined thermal resistance between the PV panel and the absorber plate was large, and reducing the combined thermal resistance could reduce the temperature of the PV panel. The effects of solar irradiance, ambient temperature and spacing of row tubes on the performance of thermal collection were analyzed to optimize the PV/T performance.

References

  1. Kern EC, Russell MC. Combined photovoltaic and thermal hybrid collector systems. //IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference. Washington, 1978: 1153-1157.
  2. Florschuetz LW. Extension of the Hottel-Whillier model to the analysis of combined photovoltaic/thermal flat plate collectors. Solar Energy, 1979; 22(4): 361-366. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(79)90190-7
  3. Bergene T, Lovvik OM. Model calculations on a flat-plate solar heat collector with integrated solar cells. Solar Energy, 1995; 55(6): 453-462. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(95)00072-Y
  4. Chow TT, Pei G, Fong KF, et al. Energy and exergy analysis of photovoltaic-thermal collector with and without glass cover. Applied Energy, 2009; 86(3): 310-316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2008.04.016
  5. Ibrahim A, Othman M Y, Ruslan MH, et al. Recent advances in flat plate photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collectors. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2011; 15(1): 352-365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2010.09.024
  6. Dupeyrat P, Rommel M, Henning H M. Efficient single glazed flat plate photovoltaic-thermal hybrid collector for domestic hot water system. Solar Energy, 2011; 85(7): 1457-1468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2011.04.002
  7. Fudholi A, Sopian K, Yazdi MH, et al. Performance analysis of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) water collectors. Energy Conversion and Management, 2014; 78: 641-651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2013.11.017
  8. Aste N, Leonforte F, Pero CD. Design, modeling and performance monitoring of a photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) water collector. Solar Energy, 2015; 112: 85-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2014.11.025
  9. Ramdani H, Ould-Lahoucine C. Study on the overall energy and exergy performances of a novel water-based hybrid photovoltaic-thermal solar collector. Energy Conversion and Management, 2020, 222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2020.113238
  10. Bilbao JI, Sproul AB. Detailed PVT-water model for transient analysis using RC networks. Solar Energy, 2015; 115: 680-693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2015.03.003
  11. Sakellariou E, Axaopoulos P. An experimentally validated, transient model for sheet and tube PVT collector. Solar Energy, 2018; 174: 709-718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.09.058
  12. Turkyilmazoglu M. Efficiency of heat and mass transfer in fully wet porous fins: Exponential fins versus straight fins. Int J Refrig 2014; 46: 158-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2014.04.011
  13. Turkyilmazoglu M. Stretching/shrinking longitudinal fins of rectangular profile and heat transfer. Energy Convers Manag 2015; 91: 199-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.12.007
  14. Turkyilmazoglu M. Heat transfer from moving exponential fins exposed to heat generation. Int J Heat Mass Transf 2018; 116: 346-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2017.08.091
  15. Zhou J, Ke H, Deng X. Experimental and CFD investigation on temperature distribution of a serpentine tube type photovoltaic/thermal collector. Solar Energy, 2018; 174: 735-742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.09.063
  16. Yu Y, Long E, Chen X, Yang H. Testing and modelling an unglazed photovoltaic thermal collector for application in Sichuan Basin. Applied Energy, 2019; 242: 931-941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.03.114
  17. Yu G, Wu J, Zhou J, et al. Test method for flow pressure loss in liquid piping equipment: China, 201310012570.8. 2015-07-22.
  18. Ji J, Pei G, He W, et al. Research progress on solar photovoltaic/ thermal systems utilization. Beijing, China: Science Press, 2017.
  19. Duffie JA, Beckman WA. Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes. 4th ed. New York, USA: Wiley, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118671603
  20. Bergene T, Lovvik OM. Model calculations on a flat-plate solar heat collector with integrated solar cells. Solar Energy, 1995; 55(6): 453-462. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(95)00072-Y
  21. Zhang X, Ren Z, Mei F. Heat transfer. 5th ed. Beijing, China: China Building Industry Press, 2007.