Abstract
Exploiting solar energy using photo-thermal (PT) and/or hybridised photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) systems can represent a viable alternative to the growing demand for renewable energy. For large-scale implementation, such systems require thermal fluids able to enhance the combined conversion efficiency achievable by controlling the ‘thermal’ and ‘electrical’ components of the solar spectrum. Nanofluids are typically employed for these purposes and they should exhibit high heat-transfer capabilities and optical properties tuned towards the peak performance spectral window of the photovoltaic (PV) component. In this work, novel nanofluids, composed of highly luminescent organic molecules and Ag nanoparticles dispersed within a base fluid, were tested for PT and PVT applications. These nanofluids were designed to mimic the behaviour of luminescent down-shifting molecules while offering enhanced thermo-physical characteristics over the host base fluid. The nanofluids’ conversion efficiency was evaluated under a standard AM1.5G weighted solar spectrum. The results revealed that the Ag nanoparticles’ inclusion in the composite fluid has the potential to improve the total solar energy conversion. The nanoparticles’ presence minimizes the losses in the electrical power component of the PVT systems as the thermal conversion increases. The enhanced performances recorded suggest that these nanofluids could represent suitable candidates for solar energy conversion applications.
Highlights
The process of decarbonizing the European economy, necessitates a reduction in the dependency of European regions on energy derived from fossil fuels whilst simultaneously increasing the percentage of ‘clean’ energy produced [1]
The experimentally measured optical transmittance spectra of all three types of the plasmonic-enhanced luminescent down-shifting (PLDS) nanofluid filters listed in Table 1 are presented in Figure 2 (P183-a, P205-c, P282-e), with the accompanying spectral properties of the base fluid provided for comparison
In this study a series of fluorescent imidazo-phenanthroline molecules were combined with Ag nanoparticles to develop plasmon-enhanced luminescent down-shifting nanofluids for spectral beam-splitting (SBS)-PVT applications
Summary
The process of decarbonizing the European economy, necessitates a reduction in the dependency of European regions on energy derived from fossil fuels whilst simultaneously increasing the percentage of ‘clean’ energy produced [1]. By 2050, the EU has planned to reach a state of climate neutrality in which 50% of the low- to medium-temperature water (utilized throughout residential, building, and industrial sectors) is delivered by photothermal (PT) technology and 60% of the electricity to be generated by photovoltaics (PV) [1]. Despite this strong commitment, by the end of 2018, PT systems had accounted for only 7% of the thermal energy that was consumed, while PV systems represent only 4% of the European energy market [2,4]. By increasing the exergetic efficiency (the amount of useful work that can be extracted) of solar energy technologies (photothermal and photovoltaic), the potential for reaching the energy targets set by the EU could become closer to a reality [1,2,6]
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