Abstract
In this work, we experimentally demonstrate a hybrid PV/T system with improved energy efficiency utilizing water based graphene nanofluids. Graphene nanoplatelets (GnP) concentration is varied in this study to understand its influence on solar panel temperature, energy efficiency of PV and PV/T systems. The GnPs were dispersed in the water under ultrasonic vibration with sodium deoxycholate (SDC) as a surfactant for 1 h. The results show that increase in graphene concentration in water improves the thermal conductivity significantly when compared to the base fluid. This in turn reduces the panel temperature by ~20 °C for the volume concentration of 0.3 vol% at 0.085 kg/s. The results confirmed that the use of graphene nanoplatelets significantly improves the energy efficiency of PV and PV/T systems by 23% and 13% respectively. The present study will be helpful in designing the energy efficient PV/T system with nanofluids.
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