Abstract ▼ AI-Helper

A photovoltaic/thermal(PVT)collector produces both thermal energy and electricity simultaneously. The heat from PV modules should be removed for better electrical performance, and can be converted into useful thermal energy. A PVT module is a combination of PV module with a solar thermal collector w...

A photovoltaic/thermal(PVT)collector produces both thermal energy and electricity simultaneously. The heat from PV modules should be removed for better electrical performance, and can be converted into useful thermal energy. A PVT module is a combination of PV module with a solar thermal collector which forms one device that converts solar radiation into electricity and heat. In general, there are two different types of PVT module: glazed PVT module and unglazed PVT module. On the other hand, two types of the PVT module can be distinguished according to absorber on PV module rear side: the sheet-and-tube absorber PVT module and the fully wetted absorber PVT module. The absorber collector plays an important function in PVT system. It cools down the PV module, while collecting the thermal energy produced in the form of hot water. The aim of this study is to compare the electrical and thermal performance of two different PVT collectors, one with the rectangular tube and the other with fully wetted absorber PVT collectors. For this paper, the PVT collectors with two different types of thermal absorber were made, and both the thermal and electrical performance of them were measured in outdoor, and the results were compared. The experimental results were analyzed that the thermal efficiency of the fully wetted absorber PVT collector is about 8.7% higher than the sheet-and-tube absorber PVT collector, and for the electrical efficiency, the fully wetted absorber PVT collector had about 7% higher than the rectangular tube absorber.