Thermodynamical analysis and evaluation of louver-fins based hybrid bi-fluid photovoltaic/thermal collector systems

Abstract

This study experimentally verified a new design of the bilateral unit of a PV/T photovoltaic-thermal collector that utilises water and air as a coolant under weather conditions in Gödöllő, Hungary. This study examined the behaviour of three cases with different thermal configurations. The cases were classified based on the absorber design fixed to the air channels used for heat extraction from the back surface of the solar cell. The first was a copper flat-plate absorber used to configure an air-cooled unit (AC-PVT). The second soldered a new fin shape (louvered fins) and a water serpentine-shaped tube on a flat plate collector (LFS-PV/T). The last was similar to the second but without water flow (ALF-PV/T). The experimental results verified the achievement of the fabricated module, LFS-PV/T. The thermal and electrical efficiencies of the three examined systems were 19.4 and 6.09% for the AC-PV/T system, 89.1 and 7.66% for the LFS-PV/T system, and 45.1 and 6.91% for the ALF-PV/T system. Along with the efficiencies, the surface temperature of the solar cells of the LFS-PV/T module was 31.7% lower than that of the AC-PV/T module and 25.4% lower than that of the ALF-PV/T module.