A Comparative Experimental Study on the Thermal and Electrical Performance of Closed and Semi-Closed Photovoltaic Thermal Air Collectors

Abstract

AbstractsTwo types of solar photovoltaic thermal air collector (PAC) modules are proposed in this paper. The two modules can be combined and spliced into different sizes to satisfy the energy needs of the users and fit the size of the site roof, providing both electrical and thermal energy to the building. The employed collectors were designed with two typical configurations of air flow passages: one on both sides of the photovoltaic cell (closed structure) and the other below the photovoltaic cell (semi-closed structure). An experimental platform for collector performance testing was constructed to investigate the thermal and electrical performance of the PAC modules in the heating mode and non-heating mode. The results show that the thermoelectric comprehensive efficiency of the closed and semi-closed structures increased by 11.6%·m-1·s and 19.4%·m-1·s, respectively, with the increase in the inlet air flow rate. Additionally, with the increase in the inlet air temperature, the thermoelectric comprehensive efficiency of the closed and semi-closed structures decreased by 0.83%·°C-1 and 1.9%·°C-1, respectively. Under the experimental conditions, the thermoelectric comprehensive efficiency of the semi-closed PAC reached a maximum of 97.4%. The modular PAC has potential applications for farmers and herders in cold, remote regions.

Keywords: solar energy, photovoltaic air collectors, thermal and electrical performance, efficiency, experimental study