A review on solar photovoltaic thermal integrated desalination technologies

Thermal performance investigation and optimization of buildings with integrated phase change materials and solar photovoltaic thermal collectors

Development and evaluation of a ceiling ventilation system enhanced by solar photovoltaic thermal collectors and phase change materials

The object of the study: a system with a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector. The main problem addressed is to enhance the conversion and utilization efficiency of solar energy by developing a new design of photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector. A computer model of the proposed design of a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector (PVT) was developed, and its thermotechnical characteristics were investigated. Patterns of temperature changes in the heat transfer fluid in PVT and thermal accumulator over time of irradiation were determined. It is shown that the instantaneous thermal power of the solar collector was 540 W/m2, and the efficiency was 0.6. Changes in the instantaneous specific thermal power of the system with PVT (up to 450 W/m2) and its efficiency in heat accumulation in the accumulator (0.5) were studied. The high efficiency of PVT can be explained by its optimal design, which ensures simultaneous production of thermal and electrical energy, as well as balancing of the operation of the thermal and photovoltaic parts. The main difference between the developed model and existing analogs is the comprehensive consideration of the interaction of the thermal and photovoltaic parts in one installation. The model allows optimizing the PVT design to increase its efficiency. The research has allowed developing a new design of a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector, which ensures high efficiency of conversion and utilization of solar energy. The obtained results and the developed model provide a basis for further improvement of PVT and its implementation in power systems of buildings and technological processes to increase the share of solar energy utilization and reduce fossil fuel consumption

A relatively new technology, a hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) solar collector, allows for producing electrical and thermal energy. However, the module heats up more when exposed to sunlight thanks to the PVT collector's incorporation, reducing its efficiency. Consequently, lowering the operating temperature is crucial for maximizing the system's effectiveness. This research aims to create a photovoltaic thermal phase change material (PVT-PCM) solar collector and evaluate its energy performance through a controlled laboratory environment. Two different PVT collector designs, one using water and the other using a phase change material (PCM), were evaluated using a spiral flow configuration. Under a sun simulator, the PVT solar collector was subjected to 400 W/m2, 600 W/m2, and 800 W/m2 of solar irradiation at three different mass flow rates. The results showed that under 800 W/m2 of solar irradiation and 0.033 kg/s mass flow rate, the collector using water could only reach an overall maximum efficiency of 64.34 %, whereas the PVT-PCM configuration with spiral flow had the maximum performance, with an overall efficiency of 67.63%.

Nowadays buildings are responsible of 36% of CO2 emissions and space heating and cooling alone accounts for 40% of the final energy consumption at European level. In this context, solar-assisted systems represent an important solution to support the decarbonisation pathways in residential sector. In this work, a novel lumped parameter simulation model for photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collectors developed by Authors as a type of Transient System Simulation (TRNSYS) software is used to carry out computer simulations in different climatic conditions. The model is based on the electrical analogy method to solve the transient heat transfer problem and considers the effect of the thermal capacitances of the elements composing the photovoltaic thermal collector. The simulation tool was also validated with the experimental data in terms of both electrical and thermal power. In this work, a simulation-based analysis is carried out considering three climatic zones in order to evaluate the thermal performance of photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collectors under different operating conditions.

Photovoltaic thermal collectors (PVT) combines technologies of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors into a hybrid system by attaching an absorber to the back surface of a PV panel. PVT collectors have gained a lot of attention recently due to the high energy output per unit area compared to a standalone system of PV panels and solar thermal collectors. In this study, performance of a liquid cooled flat PVT collector under the climatic conditions of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates was experimentally investigated. The electrical performances of the PVT collector was compared to that of a standalone PV panel. Moreover, effect of sand accumulation on performance of PVT collectors was examined. Additionally, effect of mass flow rate on thermal and electrical output of PVT collector was studied. Electrical power output is slightly affected by changes in mass flow rate. However, thermal energy increased by 22% with increasing flow rate. Electrical power output of a PV panel was found to be 38% lower compared to electrical output of PVT collectors. Dust accumulation on PVT surface reduced electrical power output up to 7% compared with a reference PVT collector.

This paper presents the simulation and performance evaluation of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system integrated with water-based solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors for residential buildings. The proposed system utilizes geothermal energy and solar energy to provide space cooling and heating as well as domestic hot water (DHW), and offsets the need of grid electricity by generating electricity from the PV cells. A dynamic simulation system is developed using TRNSYS and used to facilitate the performance evaluation of the proposed system. A 20-year life-time performance simulation is performed under three operation scenarios with different sizes of the PVT collectors. The results showed that the performance of the proposed system is highly dependent on the size of the PVT collectors. For the case building studied, it is more effective to use the heat gathered by the PVT collectors to produce DHW if the area of the PVT collectors is less than 54 m2. Otherwise, it is better to use the thermal energy generated from the PVT collectors to recharge the ground during the transient periods and to provide space heating during the heating period. Furthermore, an economic analysis is carried out to determine the optimum size of the PVT collectors for the case study building. The results from this study demonstrate how building simulation offers the capability in analyzing and determining the optimal operation strategies for complex energy systems at the design stage.

Due to global warming, freshwater sources are depleting, leading to scarcity of fresh water and affecting billions of people across the globe. Therefore, desalination technology is deployed to generate fresh water from salt water to meet the demand. Desalination is an energy-demanding process that takes a lot of power to run its operation, a significant barrier to its growth. Most of the energy in the form of electricity comes from the thermal power plant, which runs on fossil fuels, which leads to substantial emissions. Therefore, efforts are made to utilise solar energy using photovoltaics and solar thermal collector to generate energy in heat and electricity, which can be utilised in desalination technologies. According to International Renewable Energy Agency 2012, merely 1% of the water produced from total desalinated water is from renewable energy-based sources. Various thermal desalination technologies are presented in this review work. Further integration of photovoltaics and solar thermal collector as an energy input source with the desalination technology is discussed. It has been established that the simultaneous use of photovoltaics and solar thermal in desalination technologies could be a viable alternative to stand-alone photovoltaics and solar thermal-based desalination technologies because of simultaneous heat input and electricity improves specific energy consumption and energy efficiency reducing grid dependency. Solar photovoltaic thermal collector provides enhanced energy output within the same area, generating desalinated water at a lower cost and effectiveness of such systems, with some studies reporting up to a 59% increase in water production compared to conventional desalination processes. Apart from the economic and technical advantages found in the open literature, complicated system design, its control and operation strategy, and low technology maturity limit the deployment of photovoltaic thermal collectors in the real world, which requires further research.

The effect of inlet temperature on electrical and thermal efficiency for the photovoltaic thermal collector (PVT) and on electrical efficiency for the photovoltaic collector (PV) are issue for the researchers. In this paper, we made an experimental study for a photovoltaic collector and a hybrid thermal photovoltaic collector. The results are obtained from tests for a period of 12 hours in summer. The experimental hypothesis is made through the climatic data of Tunisia on June 2022. The objective of this experimental study is to determine the thermal and electrical efficiencies of photovoltaic thermal collector and the electrical efficiency of photovoltaic collector. To study the effect of the photovoltaic thermal system on overall performance, a mathematical model of photovoltaic thermal has been used .We have examined the effect of adding fins absorbers on improving heat transfer and energy performance of a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector, in order to achieve the objective.

Photovoltaic thermal solar water collector designed with a jet collision system

Photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collectors combine photovoltaic modules and solar thermal collectors, forming a single device that receives solar radiation and produces electricity and heat simultaneously. PVT collectors can produce more energy per unit surface area than side-by-side PV modules and solar thermal collectors. There are two types of liquid-type flat-plate PVT collectors, depending on the existence of glass cover over PV module: glass-covered (glazed) PVT collectors, which produce relatively more thermal energy but have lower electrical yield, and uncovered (unglazed) PVT collectors, which have relatively lower thermal energy with somewhat higher electrical performance. In this paper, the experimental performance of two types of liquid-type PVT collectors, glazed and unglazed, was analyzed. The electrical and thermal performances of the PVT collectors were measured in outdoor conditions, and the results were compared. The results show that the thermal efficiency of the glazed PVT collector is higher than that of the unglazed PVT collector, but the unglazed collector had higher electrical efficiency than the glazed collector. The overall energy performance of the collectors was compared by combining the values of the average thermal and electrical efficiency.

Review of recent research on photovoltaic thermal solar collectors

Experimental investigation and two-level model-based optimisation of a solar photovoltaic thermal collector coupled with phase change material thermal energy storage

Innovative integrated solar powered polygeneration system for green Hydrogen, Oxygen, electricity and heat production

Mathematical modeling and performance evaluations of a wood drying process using photovoltaic thermal and double-pass solar air collectors