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Photovoltaic (PV) panels and thermal collectors are commonly known as mature technologies to capture solar energy. The efficiency of PV cells decreases as operating cell temperature increases. Photovoltaic Thermal Collectors (PVT) offer a way to mitigate this performance reduction by coupling solar cells with a thermal absorber that can actively remove the excess heat from the solar cells to the Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF). In order for PVT collectors to effectively counter the negative effects of increased operating cell temperature, it is fundamental to have an adequate heat transfer from the cells to the HTF. This paper analyzes the operating temperature of the cells in a low concentrating PVT solar collector, by means of both experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation results on the Solarus asymmetric Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) PowerCollector (PC). The PC solar collector features a Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) reflector geometry called the Maximum Reflector Concentration (MaReCo) geometry. This collector is suited for applications such as Domestic Hot Water (DHW). An experimental setup was installed in the outdoor testing laboratory at Gävle University (Sweden) with the ability to measure ambient, cell and HTF temperature, flow rate and solar radiation. The experimental results were validated by means of an in-house developed CFD model. Based on the validated model, the effect of collector tilt angle, HTF, insulation (on the back side of the reflector), receiver material and front glass on the collector performance were considered. The impact of tilt angle is more pronounced on the thermal production than the electrical one. Furthermore, the HTF recirculation with an average temperature of 35.1 °C and 2.2 L/min flow rate showed that the electrical yield can increase by 25%. On the other hand, by using insulation, the thermal yield increases up to 3% when working at a temperature of 23 °C above ambient.

In churches, intentional airing may be a measure to evacuate temporarily high levels of contaminants, emitted during services. Crucial contaminants include moisture and other emissions that may deteriorate and/or soil painted surfaces and other precious artefacts. Most old churches do not have any mechanical ventilation system or any purpose provided openings for natural ventilation, but the ventilation is governed by air infiltration. Enhanced airing may be achieved by opening external windows or doors. Thus, models provided in energy simulation programs should predict this kind of airflows correctly, to get a proper estimation of the total energy use. IDA indoor climate and energy (IDA-ICE) simulation program is examined here and its model for airflow through large vertical openings is investigated. Moreover, field measurements were performed for airing rate in a historical church. The simulated singlesided flows were of the same magnitude of the measured ones, but the effect of wind direction was less considered by the simulation program. At cross-flow, when wind is approaching the opening it has a choice; flow through the opening or around and above the building. This process is not considered in the IDA-indoor climate and energy model, which can contribute to the discrepancy between measurements and predictions.