Development of a simplified resistance-capacity network thermal model for semi-transparent photovoltaic insulating glass unit

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) glazing not only reduces energy consumption for air conditioning, but also uses PV output for building use. However, the relatively complex PV glass structure makes it more difficult to predict PV power generation and characterize their thermal performance for building load prediction. In this work, the resistance-capacity (RC) model of the semi-transparent photovoltaic insulating glass unit (STPV-IGU) is established. Three hypotheses of solar radiation absorption are proposed. According to the experimental data, it is proved that the hypothesis based on uniform absorption and solar radiation absorption occurring at the glass boundary node plane is more reasonable, and the simulation results agree well with the experimental data. Secondly, the model is simplified, and the simulation results show that the thermal resistance of the glass has the least effect on the model. And the simplest model can be simplified to 3R2C. Finally, the expression of the heat dissipation time constant of the glass system is derived from the simplified model, and the heat dissipation time constant of the STPV-IGU system is calculated to be 40.84 min under normal temperature conditions.