Mathematical Modelling and Simulation of the Performance of PV/T Air Solar Collector

Abstract

The world demand of energy is increasing continuously, and solar energy is one of the renewable energies that can be utilized to fulfil the demand. Over the years, there are many researches that have been carried out on hybrid air solar collector. Hybrid-PV system or PV/T system is an integration of photovoltaic (PV) cells and solar thermal components. It is proven in many researches that combined PV and thermal system gives higher efficiency than individually working system. Therefore, this paper discusses the development of mathematical model of a photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collector. The effects of various parameters on the performance of the solar collector are also discussed. Since there is a drop of efficiency of the photovoltaic cells as the operating temperature increases, this study proposes a design of PV/T solar collector with an air-cooling system with a set of fins attached to improve its overall performance. A mathematical model representing the system by using one dimensional energy balance equations is developed. A simulation has been carried out by using MATLAB to determine the effect of parameters such as solar radiation and temperature on the performance of the solar collector. It is found out that when the temperature of the collector is reduced by removing heat through working fluid, its performance can be improved. Therefore, when air mass flow rate increases, the electrical and thermal efficiencies of the collector increase. Meanwhile, the collector efficiency also increases with the increase in solar radiation.