Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Combined Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar System in Hot Climate

Hybrid photovoltaic-thermal solar system (PVT) which generates electricity and heat simultaneously is well known technology; however they are still need more development and collaboration. The proposed combination can offer economical advantages compared to a combination of separate thermal and photovoltaic panels In the present work, an outdoor test facility is designed and installed to experimentally investigate the thermal and electrical yield of a hybrid PVT in Kuwait climate. Linear regression analysis is adapted to determine the thermal and optical parameters of the PVT system from measurements. A simulation model compatible with TRNSYS is developed to analyze the performance of Hybrid PVT solar system (PVT) with hot water storage tank. The simulation model can provide the transient and long term evaluation to predict the system performance in different weather conditions. The simulation model presented is a steady state model based on solving the heat balance equations for the different layers in the PVT system. The simulation results obtained from present model is found to agree well with the experimental data. The performance measurements indicated that the combined photovoltaic-thermal collector produces a higher yield per unit area than a conventional thermal collector. Compared with individual PV and solar collector of the same aperture area, it was found that PVT system produces a higher yield. Maximum energy generation from the PVT collector corresponds to a collector slope of 25° (latitude -5°) and facing south. In addition, PVT with monocrystalline silicon cells achieves the highest energy production among the three PV cell types studied.