Photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) technology: Review and case study

Abstract

Abstract Nowadays, solar technology converts solar energy into electricity and heat separately. For electricity generation, the main obstacle is the fact that the photovoltaic cells produce less energy as the temperature increases. To overcome this, cooling techniques can be used to raise the efficiency of solar cells, in order to obtain greater power generation. The photovoltaic-thermal hybrid solar collector (or PVT) is an equipment that integrates a photovoltaic (PV) module, for the conversion of solar energy into electrical energy, and a module with high thermal conversion efficiency (T), which employs a thermal fluid. This optimization of solar conversion technology has the main objective of cooling the photovoltaic cells, for increased generation of electricity, while also resulting in useful thermal energy from the working fluid, therefore constituting a cogeneration equipment. The present work reviews the development and global panorama of PVT technology. Afterwards, a case study of a PVT system is presented, together with a theoretical and experimental study. A thermography analysis performed in this PVT system is also examined, which allows for a real-time study of its operating regimes in different conditions, mainly of its thermal behaviour, and for the diagnosis of hot spots that signal potential defects in the cells.