Performance boost of an integrated photovoltaic-thermal and solar thermal collectors using minichannel heat sink: Energy, exergy, and environmental analysis

Abstract

This case study investigates the enhancement of thermo-electric efficiency of an integrated photovoltaic-thermal and solar thermal collectors through the utilization of a minichannel heat sink. The integration of a photovoltaic-thermal collector and a solar thermal collector forms a cohesive system designed to minimize heat loss and streamline the external connection process. The energy, exergy, and environmental analysis of the integrated system are numerically investigated and compared by four solar systems including a photovoltaic module, solar thermal collector, photovoltaic-thermal collector, and simple channel-based integrated system. The results of energy analysis show that among the five investigated systems, the maximum electrical and thermal power is obtained using minichannel-based integrated systems, which are 0.8 % and 55.8 % higher than those of photovoltaic-thermal systems, respectively. By using minichannels instead of the simple channel, the electrical and thermal exergy of the integrated system increases by 0.80 % and 7.16 %, respectively. The greater effect of the solar radiation on the systems’ performance than other operating parameters is found from the results so the total power of the minichannel-based integrated systems increases by 245.39 W, by increasing the radiation rate from 700 W/m2 to 1100 W/m2. The annual CO2 mitigation of the integrated system, in term of energy, is 11.54 tCO2/annum, which is 81.5 % and 56.8 % more than photovoltaic module and solar thermal collector, respectively.