Feasibility study of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collector system in the climate of Jordan

Abstract

AbstractThis study is dedicated to investigating the feasibility of photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors' technology for application in Jordan. Simple parallel‐plate collector configurations were simulated using COMSOL: rectangular fins, triangular fins, and wavy walls. The wavy‐wall configuration was found the most efficient alternative in terms of heat transfer with respect to the pumping power and performance factor that took into account the comparison with a plain‐wall parallel‐plate collector. However, the performance of the plain‐wall parallel plate preceded that of the wavy wall by increasing the Reynolds number and the water channel height. The plain‐wall parallel‐plate configuration was further investigated on HOMER as a 5 MW solar plant that provides energy to a 5‐MW facility. One MW of its load is direct thermal load. Different solar plant designs were compared. The PV/T plant was found to be very much energy saving but not feasible due to its high initial cost. However, the PV/T plant was better than the PV when the cooling was not complete compromising on some electric energy in favor of heat generation. Further work on reducing the cost of the PV/T collector is required especially with regard to contact methods between the PV and the absorber plate and to the weight of the collector.