Comparative analysis on embodied energy and CO2 emissions for stand-alone crystalline silicon photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems for tropical climatic regions of India

Abstract

According to Mc Granahan, urban transition in India is on the rise and is expected to cross 500 million by 2050 (McGranahan, Balk & Anderson, 2007). Alternate technical solutions to satisfy future energy demand for urban lifestyles must lead to sustainable societies. Currently, stand-alone Solar Photovoltaic system installations have tremendous demand in the domestic sector due to their low maintenance and reliable power output. Nevertheless, the performance of these stand-alone systems is limited by heating of modules, dust accumulation and other operating parameters. Photovoltaic Thermal domestic systems could offer solutions to tackle real-time power generation issues. The literature reported that the utility of PVT thermal energy for domestic hot water generation was possible. Hence, this study showcases Energy payback time calculation for PVT systems compared to conventional installations for single and multi-crystalline silicon (sC-Si and mC-Si) PV modules. In this article, CO2 emission mitigation calculations for a 335 Wp PVT module with a twenty-five-year lifetime operating at different solar conditions in the range of 800–1200 W/m2 and 6–8 Sun hours was performed. Open field and rooftop installation with a respective balance of system requirements were considered for the analysis. The minimum and maximum EPBT for single and multi-crystalline silicon PVT systems were 6.53 and 9.07 years, respectively, considering a five-year tubular battery replacement. Results show that single-multi crystalline rooftop PVT installations better performance in terms of CO2 mitigations are 18.09–17.26 tonnes and Carbon Credit Earned 261.54–267.08 $ per year per module at solar radiation of 1200 W/m2.