Experimental and numerical study on the performance of a built-middle PV Trombe wall system

Abstract

A built-middle PV Trombe wall (MPVTW) with solar PV panel installed in the middle of the air channel is proposed, designed, and manufactured in the present study. Comparative tests with the traditional built-external PV Trombe wall (EPVTW) were conducted in Hefei (117°E, 32°N), China to evaluate the performance of the MPVTW system. The average electrical and thermal efficiencies of the MPVTW system were measured as approximately 12.0% and 38.2%, respectively. The average value of the total efficiency of the MPVTW system was 10.83% higher than that of the EPVTW system. In addition, the effects of different parameters (i.e. channel height, the PV cells coverage ratio, and the PV cells position) on the energy performance of the MPVTW system were investigated by using the validated simulation model. The results show that the variations of these parameters have significant effects on thermal performance, but have little effect on electricity efficiency. The present study also found that when the distance (between the glass cover and PV module) was in the range of 12 mm–30 mm, the optimum values of total efficiency, thermal efficiency and electricity efficiency were 57.3%, 38.3% and 12.0%, respectively.