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Experimental investigation of a copper sheet-laminated solar photovoltaic thermal water collector

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Abstract

Different concepts and designs of photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) collectors were developed for the past few decades to improve the electrical and thermal efficiencies. Several of those designs have become successful and are being commercialized along with other solar collectors. This paper discusses the experimental studies on a novel PV/T water-based collector constructed by laminating the PV cells on a copper thermal absorber. This modification reduced the thermal resistance by 9.93 %, thereby enabling better heat transfer from the PV cells to the heat transfer fluid. Water was passed through a single water channel connected to an open reservoir. Experiments were conducted with and without glazing, with two different water mass flow rates and stagnant conditions, and with load and no-load conditions and thermal stress test. Results show that an overall efficiency of 87.52 % was achieved in the presence of glazing at a mass flow rate of 0.1 kg/s. Few conformance tests according to IEC standards are also presented to check the electrical insulation and structural integrity of the PV/T collector.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their sincere thanks to Anna University for providing the necessary funds through the “Anna Centenary Research Fellowship.” They also wish to thank Waaree Energy Systems, Surat, for their help in the construction of the PV/T module and Malar Engg Works Pvt. Ltd., Chennai, for the fabrication of the PV/T collector.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vel Tech Dr. RR & Dr. SR Technical University, Chennai, 600062, India

    Jee Joe Michael

  2. Institute for Energy Studies, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Anna University, Chennai, 600025, India

    Iniyan Selvarasan

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  1. Jee Joe Michael
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  2. Iniyan Selvarasan
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Correspondence to Jee Joe Michael.

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Michael, J.J., Selvarasan, I. Experimental investigation of a copper sheet-laminated solar photovoltaic thermal water collector. Energy Efficiency 10, 117–128 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-016-9443-x

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