Abstract
Current commercial photovoltaic (PV) conversion efficiency (flat plate modules) is about 6--20%, depending on the materials used for the module construction. Since only a small fraction (<10%) of the incident solar energy is reflected and/or transmitted, a large fraction of the solar radiation is converted into heat. If this heat can be harvested as well, the overall energy efficiency of such an integrated photovoltaic thermal (PVT) hybrid system will be greatly improved. At the same time, pumping water through the PV modules will cool (if Twater < Tmodule) the solar cells and improve their electricity production efficiency. This article describes the design and numerical simulation of a PVT system for producing electricity and hot water in a student hostel in Singapore. The nominal electrical power output is 10 kWp (kilowatt peak). Thermal models were developed based on basic energy balance equations and average climatic conditions for Singapore over a typical year were used. A survey of the hot water usage pattern over a typical week was carried out and used in the simulation. The optimum mass flow rate in the collectors is found to be 0.039 kg/(s m2) and the optimum storage tank capacity for hot water is 2500 kg for a showering load of around 6000 kg/day. The average thermal and electrical efficiency of the system are 43% and 12%, respectively. The requirement of auxiliary electric energy for water heating is predicted to be reduced by 94%.
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