Average Electrical Efficiency Research Articles

Analyzing thermal performance of a solar PV using a nanofluid

Due to the increasing depletion of fossil resources, the usage of renewable energy to generate electricity is on the rise. Photovoltaic (PV) technology is one of the most widely used methods of electricity generation. The effectiveness of PV cells decreases during warm days of every year, when the greatest irradiation of sunlight is available, owing to excessive cell temperature. The proper cooling mechanism would help to deprive the PV cell temperature and thereby, the efficiency of the panels can be improved. In the present study, the usage of a nano-SiO2 based nanofluid for cooling the 330 Wp Photovoltaic panel is researched in order to reduce the heating related issues of the PV cells. The nanofluid was prepared through the dispersion of 0.2 wt% of nano-SiO2 within the distilled water. It was noticed that the temperature of the Photovoltaic panels with SiO2 nanofluid was sustained to be 34 °C after 420 min of testing, whereas the temperature of the traditional panel was determined to be 79 °C. Furthermore, the average electrical efficiency was increased by 17.3 percent as a result of the reduced temperature difference using SiO2 nanofluid.

Thermal analysis of water distillation system using pv/t collector combined single basin still

A simulation program combined with experiment for hot water supply system using PV/T collector combined with Single Basin solar still is introduced in this paper. PV/T collector is known as a thermal - electrical co-generation device. Besides the ability to generate electricity, it also generates heat to heat water, serving water distillation at night. This combination not only helps to increase the electrical capacity of the solar cells, but also helps to increase the total distillation output of the day and night for the Single Basin solar still. Based on the energy balance equations at the components of the PV/T collector, the hot water tank and the components of the Single Basin solar still, a simulation program is set up using the MATLAB programming language with the Simulink tool. The simulation results are verified experimentally with high accuracy from 4.24% to 7.11%. The article demonstrates that the electrical capacity of solar cells increased by 8.6%, the average electrical efficiency and average energy efficiency of PV/T collector reached 15.1% and 36.2%, respectively. Besides, the distilled water output in one day increased by an average of 38.2% compared to the traditional Single Basin water distillation equipment. The simulation program in this study can be applied in different weather conditions, saving time and money for the implementation of projects combining PV/T collector and Single Basin solar still for arid localities and remote islands.

Design and dynamic performance of a concentrated photovoltaic system with vapor chambers cooling

• A dynamic model of CPV system with vapor chambers cooling established and validated. • Ray tracing analysis shows concentrator has optical efficiency of 74% at 30 suns. • Vapor space thickness of 3.5 mm and vapor chamber width of 250 mm are the optimum. • CPV cells temperature with vapor chambers is 17.5 K lower than that without them. • Max. instantaneous PV temperature with vapor chambers cooling at 30 suns is 323.8 K. One of the challenges faced by concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) system is the thermal management of the CPV module because it can seriously degrade and even shorten the lifetime of the CPV cells. Vapor chamber as a two-dimensional heat pipe has drawn attention for use in cooling electronic devices. In this research, vapor chambers cooling is proposed for a CPV system based on multi-segment mirror concentrator to ensure the operation of CPV module at low and uniform temperature. Ray tracing analysis shows that the developed concentrator exhibits optical efficiency of 74% at concentration ratio of 30 suns and the concentrated solar flux intensity distribution on the CPV module surface is quite uniform. To maximize the electrical energy output, the dynamic performance of the linear CPV system with vapor chambers cooling by varying the thickness of the vapor space, the vapor chamber width and the concentration ratio is analyzed. The results indicate that the vapor space thickness of 3.5 mm and the vapor chamber width of 250 mm are the optimum to achieve the best system performance. Further, it is found that the temperature of CPV cells with vapor chambers is 17.5 K lower than that without them, resulting in improvement in the system electrical performance. The maximum instantaneous CPV cells temperature of the system with the designed vapor chambers cooling under 30 suns concentration can be maintained as low as 323.8 K in a typical day and the minimum electrical efficiency and the average electrical efficiency for the whole day are 13.9% and 14.4%, respectively.

Comparative study on dual-source direct-expansion heat pumps based on different composite concentrating photovoltaic/fin evaporators

Dislike the electrical performance, the heat collection capacity is always disappointing in the photovoltaic evaporators. It is always handled by adding additional finned-tube evaporators, which will increase space occupation and pipeline complexity. In this paper, a novel direct-expansion heat pump based on linear Fresnel photovoltaic/fin evaporator is designed. By integrating concentrating photovoltaic and fins into one composite photovoltaic-air evaporator, the above shortcomings can be solved and the solar & air energy can be fully utilized to maximize the output of the evaporator with a limited area. Compared with the direct-expansion heat pump with compound parabolic concentrator/fin evaporator, this system owns a higher concentration ratio, smaller photovoltaic area (making it possible to be equipped with GaAs cells), and larger finned-tube structure to enhance the heat capacity under the same receiving area. Dynamic models are established in MATLAB and comparative analysis is carried out under different wind speeds, irradiance, and ambient temperature. The influence of running time and the system performance with 40 °C water temperature (in actual application) are also discussed. The average electrical efficiency, COPPVT, and exergy efficiency of the heat pump system based on linear Fresnel photovoltaic/fin evaporator could be 28.21%, 3.55, and 27.07% under 900 W/m2, which are all higher than 16.02%, 3.15, and 20.09% in the system with compound parabolic concentrator/fin evaporator. Therefore, the newly designed system could enhance the performance of the hybrid system.

Experimental and numerical investigation on a photovoltaic heat pump with two condensers: A micro-channel heat pipe/thermoelectric generator condenser and a submerged coil condenser

Thermoelectric generators are proposed to be applied to the heat pumps to further improve the electrical output of the system. Some mathematical analyses have been carried out, but the related experimental exploration is lacked. In this paper, a photovoltaic heat pump with two condensers: a micro-channel heat pipe/thermoelectric generator (MCHP/TEG) condenser and a submerged coil condenser, was built and tested under different weather conditions. Results show that the water temperature rises with running time, leading to the decrease in heat capacity and coefficient of performance (COPth: only consider the heat; COPPVT: consider both electricity and heat). On 29th May, the average photovoltaic output, condensing heat, COPth, and COPPVT are 358 W, 3373 W, 3.96, and 5.08, which are improved to 485 W, 3705 W, 4.32, and 5.80 by the better irradiation condition on 30th May, but the average electrical efficiency is decreased from 16.63% to 15.65%. The TEG output is also higher under better irradiance. However, due to the poor performance of the commercial TEG, the TEG output in the experiment is low. With better parameters or a larger photovoltaic evaporating area, the TEG output and system performance could be enhanced. This article is also a supplement and improvement to several previously published articles in terms of experiments and verification.

Performance investigation of a double pass PVT assisted heat pump system with latent heat storage unit

The storage of heat and electrical energy plays a crucial role in obtaining heat and electrical energy from solar energy in a sustainable way for low carbon generation. In this study, a hybrid system has been developed and tested that can produce and store both heat and electrical energy from solar energy at the same time and can use the stored energy when necessary in order to provide a sustainable heating load. For this hybrid system, a new type (double pass) of photovoltaic thermal panel and a novel latent heat storage unit integrated with the condenser of the heat pump were designed and manufactured. In addition, numerical analysis was performed using the Ansys-Fluent program to characterize the thermal behavior of the phase change material in the latent heat storage unit. The highest average electrical and thermal efficiency of the photovoltaic thermal panel for the heat pump system were measured as 16.74% and 66.98%, respectively. It was observed that the average coefficient of performance of the heat pump system varied between 2.93 and 3.18. The photovoltaic thermal panel was able to store 1.07 kWh of electrical energy and produced 9.59% more electricity than the photovoltaic panel. The melting time of paraffin was between 183 and 201 min and the solidification time between 348 and 357. Melting and solidification times varied according to the performance of the heat pump was seen.

Multi-objective optimization of a small sized solar PV-T water collector using controlled elitist NSGA-II coupled with TOPSIS

Small-sized solar photovoltaic thermal (PV-T) collector can achieve better overall performance due to less aperture plane heat losses and the possibility of concentrating more radiant flux per unit aperture area compared to their large counterpart designs. Despite its potential, studies on its performance optimization have not yet been explored. This study aims to perform a multi-objective optimization of the performance of a small-sized PV-T water collector with channel type absorber design by using a two-step procedure i.e., implementation of Non dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) followed by a decision making method i.e., a technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). Based on the Taguchi orthogonal array design for three control parameters i.e., mass flow rate, inlet temperature, and inclination angle, an experimental campaign is undertaken. The design space created on the basis of Taguchi design of experiment is used to conduct a total 16 number of experiments. An analysis of variance is carried out to obtain the significant design and operating parameters controlling the collector performance, which are used to fit the objective function equations for both thermal and electrical efficiency. A multi objective optimization strategy is then developed by a variant of NSGA-II to simultaneously optimize its average thermal and electrical efficiencies. From the obtained Pareto fronts, the most optimal solution is obtained by using TOPSIS method. The highest thermal and electrical efficiency of 82.55% and 10.45% is obtained under an optimal mass flow rate of 0.02 kg/s, inlet temperature 32 °C and inclination angle 38.88°. The influence of solar radiation on its optimized performance demonstrates a little less higher thermal efficiency of 81.05% and electrical efficiency of 11.43% obtained at a radiation of 700 W/m2. On experimental verification of the optimized performance, the highest thermal and electrical efficiency is obtained within an agreement of ± 3.51% and ± 6.9%, respectively. The present optimized efficiency values are higher compared to that of a typical experimental day with un-optimized input conditions and also higher than some of the recent published papers.

Experimental investigation of an active inclined solar panel absorber solar still-energy and exergy analysis.

The objective of the current study is to investigate the performance of the inclined solar panel basin still (ISPBS) incorporated with a spiral tube collector (STC) for various mass flow rates of water (mf). The maximum potable water yield of 8.1, 6.9, and 6.1 kg is obtained for different mass flow rates of 1.8, 3.2, and 4.7 kg/h in each instance. Also, for mf of 1.8, 3.2, and 4.7 kg per hour, the daily average energy and exergy efficiency of the ISPBS is recorded to be 47.9, 39.3, and 31.02 % and 9.8, 7.9, and 5.6 %, in each instance. The average electrical, thermal, and exergy efficiency of the PV panel is noted to be 6.5, 7.1, and 7.5 %; 15.67, 17.1, and 18.04 %; and 20.03, 22.21, and 23.36 % for mf of 1.8, 3.2, and 4.7 kg/h in each instance. The rise in mf causes a drop in the fresh water production yield; thermal, exergy, and overall thermal effectiveness; and an enhancement in the power production of the panel, electrical, thermal, exergy, and overall exergy efficiency of the system. Also, the cost of yield production is noted to be low-cost in AISS at minimum mf of 1.8 kg per hour (0.019 $/l) when compared to the other two mf of 3.2 and 4.7 kg per hour (0.022 and 0.025 $/l).

Performance of a heat pump system in combination with thermoelectric generators

The investigation on the impact of various factors of thermoelectric generator (TEG) & structure on the performance of TEG & system was carried out in this paper, which is essential to improve the system performance, optimize the system design, and match better TEG parameter. Results represent that a larger figure of merit Z (or ZT¯) may still lead to a reduction in system performance. When Z = 0.0016, the TEG conversion efficiency is 2.96% which is higher than 1.31% in the system with Z = 0.0028 under 800 W/m2 because the output is influenced by not only Z (orZT¯) but also ΔT/Th. The COPPVT and exergy efficiency of the system with Z = 0.0016 could be 7.35 and 29.18% which are lower than 7.52 and 29.77% in the system with Z = 0.0012. The exact influence of each parameter of Z is also explored. The TEG efficiency decreases from 2.05% to 0.83% with the rise of λ while the PV efficiency increases from 26.48% to 27.55%, but the COPPVT is changeless at 7.54. However, on the total performance, s and σ have more significant effects than λ. Running for 822 min with real environmental conditions, the average electrical efficiency and COPPVT could reach 28.10% and 6.84.

Design and performance characteristics of an innovative heat sink structure with phase change material for cooling of photovoltaic system

ABSTRACT Performance of a photovoltaic (PV) module depends on module characteristics, operating conditions, control systems, cell temperature, and installation environment. PV cells operating at high temperatures have lower PV electrical conversion efficiencies. In the present work, efforts are made to design and develop an innovative heat sink through which both the water cooling and cooling with phase change materials (PCM) can be done whenever required. This experimental study reports on the performance of maintaining low PV temperatures with front-surface water-cooling and back-surface cooling with a PCM based heat sink in three different configurations under the climatic condition of Moradabad city in India. The same reference module was compared with (i) a front-surface water-cooled system; (ii) a back-surface PCM-cooled module; and (iii) a system that was time dependently water-cooled and PCM-cooled module. Average surface temperature was reduced by 78.7% under first configuration, 25.7% under second configuration, and 36.8% under third configuration. The net average electrical conversion efficiency enhancement was about 22.8%, 7.8%, and 10.3% for first, second, and third configurations, respectively. New heat sink is found better for thermal management of PV systems in comparison to other available cooling techniques and conventional PV modules.

Co-generation ability investigation of the novel structured PVT heat pump system and its effect on the “Carbon neutral” strategy of Shanghai

A novel structured PVT (photovoltaic-thermal) module was proposed, manufactured, and adopted to form a solar assisted PVT heat pump system to realize high-efficiency co-generation in building sectors. The experiment apparatuses were set and tested to evaluate the thermal, electrical, hydraulic behavior of the proposed PVT module. Moreover, the temperature uniformity control ability of the novel structured PVT module was conducted in comparison with the single PV module. For instance, the operating temperature difference of the PVT module could be controlled within 0.7 °C while it is 0.9 °C of the single PV module. The average experimental electrical and thermal efficiencies are 17.93% and 109.4%, respectively, which show a significant improvement in comprehensive solar energy utilization efficiency compared with other conventional PVT technologies, and this technology would have a positive effect on the “Carbon neutral” strategy of Shanghai. The overall annual CO2 emission for electricity and domestic hot water supplement of the proposed solar assisted PVT heat pump system is 565.8 kgCO2, which is only 11.41% of the traditional supply technology (grid power + electrical water heater). Moreover, a 1 m2 PVT system could fix 3111.6 kgCO2 which is 53.2% higher than that of the PV system after 20 years.

Design and testing of concentrated photovoltaic arrays for retrofitting of solar thermal parabolic trough collectors

A new design and retrofit approach for a concentrated photovoltaic thermal (CPV-T) system based on a parabolic trough collector is presented. The design differs from previous hybrid architectures, employing a significantly simplified topology in order to reduce costs while keeping electrical efficiency high. To achieve this ambitious goal, the absorber tube of a conventional parabolic trough collector used in thermal systems is replaced by a newly developed hybrid absorber equipped with multi-junction solar cells. This offers the advantage that existing solar thermal parabolic trough facilities can be easily retrofitted, making the system scalable and cost-effective. A scaled prototype of the system was designed and tested in Graz, Austria. During on-sun tests an average electrical system efficiency of 26.8% with a simultaneous thermal efficiency of 48.8% was measured using a geometric concentration ratio of 150 (DNI based). This leads to an overall average system efficiency of 75.5%. Moreover, a solar cell peak efficiency of 30% was achieved, one of the highest measured solar-to-DC efficiencies for a parabolic trough-based solar collector. Special attention was paid to the temperature difference between the solar cells and the heat transfer fluid in order to ensure sufficient cooling of the cells and maximize thermal efficiency. The electrical, thermal and overall efficiencies at different heat transfer fluid temperatures were measured (17°C - 90°C) and their coefficients were derived. This work serves as an experimental proof-of-concept for the application of solar cells in parabolic trough collectors, thereby opening up new possibilities for cost reduction of CPV-T systems.

Artificial neural network coupled building-integrated photovoltaic thermal system for indian montane climate

Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) encompass approximately 16.2% of India’s geographical area and characterized as a montane climatic zone. The ambient temperature of this region is extremely low, with a minimum average temperature of 2–18 °C. Major settlements in this region are located at an altitude of more than 1000 m above sea level. Therefore, according to The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India, there is excessive thermal and electrical energy consumption in these regions pertaining to space heating. Moreover, the current energy sources utilized are not clean sources and hence contribute towards CO2 emissions. A building-integrated photovoltaic thermal (BIPVT) system is modelled to provide the necessary thermal energy alongside electricity for space heating intended for the climatic conditions of Srinagar. The study utilized an application-centric approach in modelling and analyzing the BIPVT system and, hence quantifying the annual outputs for Srinagar, India. Furthermore, the developed mathematical model is used for training an artificial neural network to predict the annual thermal and exergy outputs of the system based on six different model parameters. Three designs, one operational and two application-based parameters are considered as inputs to the network. Moreover, a multi-criteria decision-making method is employed to determine the best set of BIPVT parameters giving optimum annual thermal and exergy outputs along with electrical, thermal and exergy efficiencies of the modelled system. The modelled neural network performed reasonably well against the unseen test dataset in predicting the BIPVT yield with an R2 value >0.97. An optimum annual thermal and exergy gains of 2,25,459 kWh and 67,132.38 kWh, respectively, are quantified for the best set of BIPVT parameters. The system’s optimum average electrical (power conversion), thermal and exergy efficiencies are observed to be 14.87, 56.28, and 17.59%, respectively.

Electricity generation using solar parabolic dish system with thermoelectric generator—An experimental investigation

AbstractThe present electricity grid installation cost as well as the tariff is quite high in India, particularly remote rural areas, to electrify houses. These problems can be easily solved by installing standalone systems that operate on one of the clean energy sources such as solar energy. An experimental analysis of generating electricity from a thermoelectric generator (TEG) powered by a solar parabolic dish concentrator device with aperture area and focal length of 12.6 m2 and 2.42 m, respectively, is presented in this article. A TEG is made up of a thermoelectric module connected to a flat receiver by an absorber layer. The studies were carried out in Indian climatic conditions at the National Institute of Technology, Puducherry. Over a spectrum of beam radiation, the system's maximum energy conversion efficiency, as well as efficient electrical output, are evaluated and presented. The proposed system's average effective electrical efficiency is 0.424%, corresponding to the TEG's average energy conversion efficiency of 2.76%.

Experimental Investigation and Theoretical Analysis on the Performance of Tube-Sheet Photovoltaic Thermal (PV/T) Collectors

The PV/T collectors realize the simultaneous output of electricity and thermal energy, which are more efficient than the separated photovoltaic (PV) or solar thermal collectors. In this paper, the electricity generation and thermal collection performances of tube-sheet PV/T collector are studied. The main research contents are as follows: an experimental test system of PV/T collector was built to test the electricity generation and thermal collection performances of tube-sheet PV/T at an inlet water temperature of 30°C. Moreover, the flow resistance test was carried out. In addition, the theoretical heat transfer model was established, and the thermal performance was calculated by theoretical analysis. The experimental data showed that the daily average temperature difference between the PV panel and the inlet water temperature was about 22.5°C. The daily average electrical efficiency was about 9.25%, and the daily average thermal efficiency was about 28.67%. The theoretical analysis of the tube-sheet PV/T model was carried out, and the calculated results were close to the experimental results. The main reason for the large temperature difference between the PV panel and water temperature was that the combined thermal resistance between the PV panel and the absorber plate was large, and reducing the combined thermal resistance could reduce the temperature of the PV panel. The effects of solar irradiance, ambient temperature and spacing of row tubes on the performance of thermal collection were analyzed to optimize the PV/T performance.

Annual performance analysis of a dual-air-channel solar wall system with phase change material in different climate regions of China

Applications of phase change material (PCM) in buildings have significant energy-saving potential. In this work, a dual-air-channel solar wall system with PCM is proposed, which has the following main functions: electricity generation, hot water supply, passive indoor space heating and ventilation cooling. Continuous experimental tests were conducted through two hot-box rooms in Hefei to confirm the energy saving effects of the system. Mathematical model of the system is established and validated against the experimental results. With the validated model, the annual performance of the system in three selected cities (Urumqi, Beijing and Hefei) is investigated. Annual electricity generation and average electrical efficiency of the three cities are 179.67 kWh, 179.21 kWh, 119.28 kWh and 11.22%, 10.67%, 11.06%. Annual energy saved are 863.24 kWh, 770.53 kWh and 576.43 kWh. Parametric analyses are also conducted. Proper increase of PV coverage is beneficial to the comprehensive performance of the system. Decrease of the thickness ratio of the outer and inner channel and increase of depth-to-width ratio of the channel can both enhance the thermal performance in heating season. The selection of melting temperature and thickness of PCM should be based on the weather condition of the region where the system is applied.

Dynamic modeling and analysis of an advanced adsorption-based osmotic heat engines to harvest solar energy

Osmotic heat engine (OHE) is a promising technology to harvest low-grade heat from renewable energy source. In previous studies of OHEs, the features of actual heat source and application scenarios are usually ignored. Here we present an advanced adsorption-based osmotic heat engine to harvest solar energy and a dynamic model for such energy utilization system is established. Firstly, the dynamic characteristics of the OHE from transient to cyclic-steady state is investigated. There exist an optimal adsorption/desorption time to maximize the electric power and efficiency simultaneously. Higher working concentration elevates the electric power and efficiency. Larger direct solar irradiation intensity upgrades the electric power while hinders the efficiency. Then a practical simulation of a small sized OHE harvesting solar energy to generate electricity during a day is carried out and the effects of some important parameters on the system under transient state are analyzed. The results indicate that there is a best number of cycles the system performs during a day to maximize the average electric power and efficiency. Among the ten selected adsorbents, MIL-101 leads to the largest average electric power of 41.8 W and Zeolite 13X leads to the highest electric efficiency of 1.04% when the number of cycles is set as 60 and 7 mol/kg NaCl is employed as working solution.

A novel thermal regulation method for photovoltaic panels using porous metals filled with phase change material and nanoparticle additives

The main problem with different types of PV cells is that they heat up beyond their optimal working temperature and thereby reduce their power generation efficiency. PV panel's thermal regulation utilising phase change material (PCM) has been a popular choice to counter the problem; however, the low thermal conductivity of PCMs is still an open challenge to fully exploit these materials as a potential solution. The effects of dispersing nanoparticles within the combination of PCM and copper foam matrix (CFM) on the PV panel performance was studied experimentally, under the climatic condition of Baghdad's city centre as a case study of a hot climate region. The results demonstrate the effect of the bundles of tangled tubes of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) additives with a 0.2% concentration ratio within the PCM/CFM, greatly improved the effective thermal properties of the material through the absorption and the rejection of heat. As a result, the electrical performance of the cells improves, which lead to an increase in the average electrical efficiency of the PV panel from 4% to 21% on the test day, when compared to the PV panels without passive cooling materials.

Parametric study of photovoltaic/thermal wickless heat pipe solar collector

Wickless heat pipes are an effective passive heat transfer device that, due to their improved heat transfer capabilities, can enhance photovoltaic system efficiency. A new photovoltaic-thermal acetone wickless heat pipe solar panel (PVT/WHP) is described in this study. The main parameters affecting the thermal and electrical efficiency of the solar panel, such as wind velocity, incident radiation, water inlet temperature, heat pipe number, and collector surface area, as well as inner heat pipe behavior and operating limits, are studied using a mathematical model. According to the reduced temperature simulation results, the theoretical PVT/WHP module's average electrical, thermal, and overall efficiency were approximately 12.52%, 43.75%, and 56.27%, respectively. The study is being used to assess the thermal efficiency of PVT/WHP under Tunisian climatic conditions, and the simulation results show that PVT/WHP outperforms conventional PVT water-based systems with a maximum thermal and electrical efficiency gain of approximately 21.9% and 14.2% respectively. The current parametric study provided a framework for assessing such a system's behavior and providing useful flexibility to achieve the best possible system performance.

Performance analysis of stand‐alone solar photovoltaic thermal dryer for drying of green chili in hot‐humid weather conditions ofNorth‐EastIndia

AbstractIn the present study, an innovative stand‐alone solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) dryer has been designed and tested in hot‐humid weather conditions of North‐East India for drying green chili. The electrical output of the hybrid PVT solar dryer has been utilized to operate the blower for the dryer making the system self‐sustained. A comparative analysis of the drying phenomena under the open sun and in the PVT based dryer is performed. Mathematical modeling is also done to investigate the drying kinetics of green chili for both drying conditions. Results indicate that the moisture content of 0.030 (d.b.) in the solar dryer and 0.035 (d.b.) in the open sun has been reduced for a span of 21 and 37 hr, respectively. Hybrid PVT solar dryer has achieved an average thermal efficiency of 31.37% and an average specific moisture extraction rate of 0.228 kg/kWh. The overall energy consumption for drying green chili is calculated to be 4.90 kWh/kg. Also, the overall thermal efficiency of 64.16%, thermal efficiency of 30.15%, and average electrical efficiency of 12.92% are secured. The results demonstrate the improved performance of the present PVT dryer for green chili drying in comparison to some of the conventional direct/indirect solar dryers.Practical ApplicationsThe present PVT solar dryer system can be utilized for drying the products using thermal energy produced by PVT air collector as well as generating electrical power in the decentralized off‐grid areas. Solar drying is not adequately popular in the North‐Eastern part of India due to the unavailability of solar drying systems for farmers. The agricultural products can be dried in the farming areas by installing this system. This PVT solar dryer provides a solution to the farmers for drying at zero energy cost and can be used as a source of income generation. This PVT solar drying system can be used to increase the storage life and reduce the spoilage and deterioration of agricultural commodities. Energy efficient solar drying process, high‐quality products, and faster drying rate compared to traditional drying method can be achieved with the help of using this system.