Experimental study on the electrical and thermal characteristics of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal water solar collector model using photovoltaic solar modules of different brands

Abstract

• Solar module brand. • Energy gain. • System management modules. • Temperature and quantity of hot water collected by type of module. • Optimization of solar module efficiency. In this work, the results of an experimental study on the thermal and electrical behavior of this hybrid collector model allowed us to determine the electrical and thermal characteristics of water-based PV/T collectors in the climatic conditions of the western region of Cameroon. A prototype was made with monocrystalline solar modules from Canadian solar brands; Trina Solar and Felicity Solar. Tests were carried out and the data collected led us to optimize the electrical and thermal production of photovoltaic solar modules. We obtained an average daily electrical energy gain of 12.3% or 42Wc (Canadian Solar); 11.8% or 35.99Wc (Trina Solar) and 11.1% or 26.5Wc (Felicity Solar) compared to conventional solar module. On the thermal side, we obtained an average daily thermal power of 659.88 W or 12 L of hot water with a temperature of 41 °C for the Canadian Solar module; 659.89 W or 12 L of hot water with a temperature of 41.5 °C for the Trina Solar module and 538.38 W or 10 L of hot water with a temperature of 41 °C for the Felicity solar module. These tests were carried out on an average solar irradiation of 877.88 W/m 2 between 8:05 am and 3:30 pm. This approach allowed us to recover an amount of the electrical power of the modules lost as heat while determining the amount of hot water that can be produced by a PV module. This prototype was produced and experimented with. It also allowed us to observe that the performance of PV/T water systems also varies depending on the brand of solar module chosen.