Abstract
With the rapid depletion of fossils fuels, opportunities for renewable energy including solar energy are endless. The efficiency of photovoltaic cells to convert the solar energy into electricity drops with the rise in temperature due to increased resistance. Thus, improving the efficiency by lowering the thermal resistance and allowing the cooling fluid (air/water) to flow through photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system is an attractive option. Climate condition based performance of any PVT system varies location wise, and cannot be generalized. Silchar is a city located in Himalayan region has tropical climatic conditions and most of its decentralized villages are out of grid connectivity. Unlike other metro cities of India, PVT will play a critical role for the development of theses villages. Keeping this in mind an attempt is made in the present study to perform an analysis of single glazed solar PVT air collector on the basis of energy and exergy for the climatic conditions of Silchar, India. An analytical model is developed to evaluate the hourly variation of PV cell temperature, cell efficiency, useful thermal heat gain, useful electrical heat gain, energy efficiency and exergy efficiency PVT system. Results depict that efficiency of PV cell decreases with the increase in temperature, and a maximum efficiency of 14.6% for the PV module is found. Out of total useful heat output, the thermal heat output contributes 60.7% while the rest is electrical heat output. Further, magnitude of the heat output is found to increase with the solar radiation and the maximum observed solar ray at around 12:30 h. Trend of both energy and exergy efficiency is similar except the magnitude. Maximum efficiency observed to be 83% and 16.5% for energy and exergy, respectively.
Highlights
Energy plays a vital role to fulfil the daily needs of every sector like industrial, agricultural, medical, transportation, household, etc
It is seen that with the increase in solar radiation and the corresponding ambient temperature, cell temperature is increased; it attains its peak during noon and starts decreasing
It can be concluded that, effect of reduction of cell efficiency on the overall performance of a photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system may not be significant till cell temperature is within
Summary
Energy plays a vital role to fulfil the daily needs of every sector like industrial, agricultural, medical, transportation, household, etc. The rapid growth of population coupled with modernization and urbanization lay to the increasing demand of energy leading to aggressive consumption of fossil fuels. In such a scenario, researchers of the present world have given more attention on efficient extraction and optimum utilization of all forms of energy which includes both renewable and non-renewable sources. Non-renewable sources of energy are considered as environment-friendly compared to its other counterparts as it keeps balance with the ecosystem by contributing negligible greenhouse. For developing countries like India, renewable energy technology is providing a platform to reduce the burden on the import of highly depleting fossil fuels
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
