Abstract
The photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collector system is a relatively mature technology to harvest energy from the sun and convert to electrical and thermal energy. Recent developments in this field have shown that the PVT system can yield electrical, thermal and combined PVT efficiencies of 13.8%, 54.6% and 68.4% respectively. This introduces the application of a semi-transparent PV to a photovoltaic thermal collector (PVT) system. A new design is proposed with two semi-transparent PVs (STPVs) to enhance the PVT performance. The semi-transparent PV (STPV) will replace the conventional glass cover, and hence will permit a certain percentage of solar radiation to pass through it. The performance of the new PVT configuration with double and single glazing was analysed, where in the double glazing, the STPV replaces the lower glazing. The thermal and electrical efficiencies of the new design configuration were investigated under different climatic conditions at Malaysia, Sudan and UK. The simulation results reveal that the new PVT system could achieve electrical, thermal and combined PVT efficiencies of 20.76%, 65.7% and 86.5% respectively, enhancing the electrical efficiency due to the use of two semi-transparent PV panels and thus improving the energy harvested per unit area, putting a positive step toward the application of a multilayer semi-transparent mono-crystalline silicon PV. However, the PVT glazing is more effective in locations with relatively low ambient temperature, while it is found not feasible in locations with considerably higher temperature. Moreover, the study indicates that the PVT system is not effective for sites with low solar radiation and ambient temperature.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Meteonorm© 7.1: irradiation data for every place on Earth
PVSyst©: software for photovoltaic systems
Meteonorm 7.1© Software 2016
References
Anderson TN, Duke M, Morrison G, Carson JK (2009) Performance of a building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPVT) solar collector. Sol Energy 83(4):445–455
Aste N, Leonforte F, Del Pero C (2015) Design, modeling and performance monitoring of a photovoltaic–thermal (PVT) water collector. Sol Energy 112:85–99
Bai Y, Chow T-T, Menezo C, Dupeyrat P (2012) Analysis of a hybrid PV/thermal solar-assisted heat pump system for sports center water heating application. Int J Photoenergy 2012:1–13
Bijarniya JP, Sudhakar K, Baredar P (2016) Concentrated solar power technology in India: a review. Renew Sust Energ Rev 63:593–603
Buonomano A, Calise F, d'Accadia MD, Vanoli L (2013) A novel solar trigeneration system based on concentrating photovoltaic/thermal collectors. Part 1: design and simulation model. Energy 61:59–71
Calise F, d’Accadia MD, Vanoli L (2012) Design and dynamic simulation of a novel solar trigeneration system based on hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collectors (PVT). Energy Convers Manag 60:214–225
Chow TT (2010) A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology. Appl Energy 87(2):365–379
Daghigh R, Ruslan MH, Sopian K (2011) Advances in liquid based photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors. Renew Sust Energ Rev 15(8):4156–4170
Dubey S, Tiwari G (2009) Analysis of PV/T flat plate water collectors connected in series. Sol Energy 83(9):1485–1498
Duffie JA, Beckman WA (2013) Solar engineering of thermal processes. Wiley, Hoboken
Dupeyrat P, Ménézo C, Rommel M, Henning H-M (2011) Efficient single glazed flat plate photovoltaic–thermal hybrid collector for domestic hot water system. Sol Energy 85(7):1457–1468
Dupeyrat P, Ménézo C, Fortuin S (2014) Study of the thermal and electrical performances of PVT solar hot water system. Energy and Buildings 68:751–755
Erdil E, Ilkan M, Egelioglu F (2008) An experimental study on energy generation with a photovoltaic (PV)–solar thermal hybrid system. Energy 33(8):1241–1245
Fadhel M, Sultan SM, Alkaff SA (2013) Theoretical study of new configuration of photovoltaic/thermal solar collector (PV/T) design. Adv Mater Res, Trans Tech Publ 772:681–687
Ferguson L, Fraas L (1995) Theoretical study of GaSb PV cells efficiency as a function of temperature. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 39(1):11–18
Fortuin S, Hermann M, Stryi-Hipp G, Nitz P, Platzer W (2014) Hybrid PV-thermal collector development: concepts, experiences, results and research needs. Energy Procedia 48:37–47
Fraisse G, Ménézo C, Johannes K (2007) Energy performance of water hybrid PV/T collectors applied to combisystems of direct solar floor type. Sol Energy 81(11):1426–1438
Fudholi A, Sopian K, Yazdi MH, Ruslan MH, Ibrahim A, Kazem HA (2014) Performance analysis of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) water collectors. Energy Convers Manag 78:641–651
Garg H, Agarwal R (1995) Some aspects of a PV/T collector/forced circulation flat plate solar water heater with solar cells. Energy Convers Manag 36(2):87–99
Gong J, Darling SB, You F (2015) Perovskite photovoltaics: life-cycle assessment of energy and environmental impacts. Energy Environ Sci 8(7):1953–1968
Greene CD, Heaney DF (2007) The PVT effect on the final sintered dimensions of powder injection molded components. Mater Des 28(1):95–100
Hasan MA, Sumathy K (2010) Photovoltaic thermal module concepts and their performance analysis: a review. Renew Sust Energ Rev 14(7):1845–1859
Hottel HC (1958) Evaluation of flat-plate collector performance. Transactions of the conference on the use of solar energy. University of Arizona Press, Tucson
Ibrahim A, Othman MY, Ruslan MH, Alghoul MA, Yahya M, Zaharim A, Sopian K (2009) Performance of photovoltaic thermal collector (PVT) with different absorbers design. WSEAS Transactions on Environment and Development 5(3):321–330
Ibrahim A, Othman MY, Ruslan MH, Mat S, Sopian K (2011) Recent advances in flat plate photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collectors. Renew Sust Energ Rev 15(1):352–365
Ibrahim A, Fudholi A, Sopian K, Othman MY, Ruslan MH (2014) Efficiencies and improvement potential of building integrated photovoltaic thermal (BIPVT) system. Energy Convers Manag 77:527–534
Kadhim AN, Yazdi MH, Abed AM, Hafidz M, Sopian K (2013) Study on the performance of photovoltaic thermal collector (PV/T) with rectangular tube absorber design. Computer Applications in Environmental Sciences and Renewable Energy, kuala lumpur, pp 5–10
Kalogirou SA (2014) Chapter 3—solar energy collectors. Solar energy engineering, 2nd edn. Academic, Boston, pp 125–220
Kumar R, Rosen MA (2011) A critical review of photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors for air heating. Appl Energy 88(11):3603–3614
Kumar A, Baredar P, Qureshi U (2015) Historical and recent development of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) technologies. Renew Sust Energ Rev 42:1428–1436
Michael JJ, Iniyan S, Goic R (2015) Flat plate solar photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) systems: a reference guide. Renew Sust Energ Rev 51:62–88
Saifullah M, Gwak J, Yun JH (2016) Comprehensive review on material requirements, present status, and future prospects for building-integrated semitransparent photovoltaics (BISTPV). J Mater Chem A 4(22):8512–8540
Salmi T, Bouzguenda M, Gastli A, Masmoudi A (2012) Matlab/simulink based modeling of photovoltaic cell. International Journal of Renewable Energy Research 2(2):213–218
Santbergen R, Rindt CCM, Zondag HA, van Zolingen RJC (2010) Detailed analysis of the energy yield of systems with covered sheet-and-tube PVT collectors. Sol Energy 84(5):867–878
Simo-Tagne M, Bennamoun L (2018) Numerical study of timber solar drying with application to different geographical and climatic conditions in Central Africa. Sol Energy 170:454–469
Sopian K, Yigit K, Liu H, Kakac S, Veziroglu T (1996) Performance analysis of photovoltaic thermal air heaters. Energy Convers Manag 37(11):1657–1670
Spaven Consulting (2013) Solar farm projects near airports. Available: http://www.solarchoice.net.au/blog/solar-panels-near-airports-glare-issue/. Accessed 06 May 2016
Sultan SM, Fadhel M, Alkaff S (2013) Performance analysis of the photovoltaic/thermal collector (PV/T) system for different Malaysian climatic conditions. Appl Mech Mater 467:522–527
Teo H, Lee P, Hawlader M (2012) An active cooling system for photovoltaic modules. Appl Energy 90(1):309–315
Tyagi V, Kaushik S, Tyagi S (2012) Advancement in solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) hybrid collector technology. Renew Sust Energ Rev 16(3):1383–1398
Watmuff J, Charters W, Proctor D (1977) Solar and wind induced external coefficients-solar collectors. Cooperation Mediterraneenne pour l'Energie Solaire, p 56
Zondag H (2008) Flat-plate PV-thermal collectors and systems: a review. Renew Sust Energ Rev 12(4):891–959
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Abakam, M., Alkaff, S.A., Go, Y.I. et al. Modelling and Performance Analysis of a New PVT System, with Two Semi-Transparent PV Panels. Process Integr Optim Sustain 3, 359–373 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41660-019-00084-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41660-019-00084-9