Design and Performance Analysis of an Air-Based Photovoltaic/Thermal Collector in Winter

Abstract

The most basic needs of the buildings in which we spend almost all of our time are electricity and heat demands. Especially in cold climatic regions, it is very important that both electrical energy and heating energy demand are met through the same system. The use of photovoltaic (PV), is increasing rapidly. Photovoltaic panels can transform solar energy into electrical energy with less than 20% performance. Photovoltaic-thermal(PV/T) collectors which can be mounted on facades of buildings or used as building envelopes, are one of the solar energy applications. With this collector, both electric energy and thermal energy demand is produced from solar energy. In our work, Photovoltaic panel and some kind of solar air collector have been taken into consideration. In order to determine the behavior of the air-based photovoltaic-thermal collector, an experimental setup and a measurement system have been established. The experimental setup consists of this measurement system, sensors that obtain data, and a data storage unit that can transmit temperature, humidity, and radiation data to the computer at the desired frequency. In order to determine the performance of the air-based PV/T collector, the efficiencies of both the PV and the solar air collector were calculated separately. To determine the performance of this collector, calculation criteria’s and model has been determined. When creating this model, the problem has been considered as time-dependent under irregular conditions. The theoretical analysis model, which was established to determine the performance of the air-based PV/T collector, was evaluated according to the winter climatic conditions of Izmir-Turkey.