Study and simulation of the performance of a photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system for domestic hot water production in Algeria

Abstract

Domestic hot water is used daily by millions of people worldwide for cooking, cleaning, bathing, etc. The energy supply for heating domestic water is typically achieved by burning fossil fuels, natural gas, or using electricity. The main goal of many countries today is to rely on renewable sources as alternatives to conventional energy sources in order to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, these emissions are considered the main cause of global warming, that’s why the world and Algeria too must face the consequences of the careless use of conventional energy sources and their foreseeable shortage, knowing that energy consumption in Algeria is primarily based on the use of petroleum products, However, it should be noted that it benefits from considerable sunlight throughout the year. The photovoltaic system using solar panels to generate thermal energy is an excellent solution to achieve this objective. The idea of exploiting this phenomenon by combining a photovoltaic system with a thermal system was proposed to form the hybrid PVT collector, which is capable of generating both electricity and heat simultaneously. In this study, we will contribute to theoretically and numerically study this hybrid solar system by applying it to a conventional house in Algeria, examining the impact of various factors on its electrical and thermal performance for domestic hot water production in order to analyze the performance of this PVT system.