Analysis of mechanical response and energy efficiency of a pavement integrated photovoltaic/thermal system (PIPVT)

A Comprehensive Review of Physical Models and Performance Evaluations for Pavement Photovoltaic Modules

“…Xie and Wang's study alleviated the urban heat island effect by reducing the road surface temperature by 3-5 • C in summer [22]. Similarly, in [26,64], the heat dissipation effect of PV panel modules has also been clearly demonstrated. However, these experiments were carried out without considering the heat transfer effect of thick ground, so the results are relatively rough.…”

“…Another research work by Zhou et al [65,66] focused on the structural performance of PV panel modules. The structural design of PV panel modules is also an important research focus, including new sealant module structures [67]; self-compacting concrete [68]; adding steam chambers, water tanks, and sun visors [21]; hollow structures with water pipes [64]; and methods for mixing fine concrete (such as cement and fine aggregates such as sand) with optical fibers [69]. Toughened glass with a metal frame and moisture-proof layer performs well in terms of load-carrying capacity and cost and is therefore recommended for use [45].…”

“…Solar-electric conversion uses solar photovoltaic (PV) technology to generate electricity. Solar-thermal conversion, on the other hand, involves a combination of thermoelectric and pyroelectric power generation technologies [83] to generate heat through the circulation of water or air through pipes hidden under the road surface [64,[84][85][86], also named pavement-integrated photovoltaic thermal (PIPVT). Solar photovoltaic technologies for roads encompass various innovations such as solar panel roads [44,76], acoustic photovoltaic barriers (APVB)-also referred to as photovoltaic sound barriers (PVSB) or photovoltaic noise barriers (PVNB) [87]-and solar arches [88].…”

Hybrid System of Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Technologies for Industrial Process Heat

“…For a better quality in the comparison of the energy performance of different energy solar systems, it is important to consider that electricity and heat have distinct energy grades. This fact is particularly relevant in conventional and hybrid configurations with the capacity to simultaneously produce electric and thermal energy because it requires the utilization of different amounts of primary energy to obtain useful thermal or electric energy from fossil sources [153][154][155]. One useful metric that considers the different energy grades of electricity and heat is the primary energy-saving efficiency (η f ) [153,156].…”

“…This fact is particularly relevant in conventional and hybrid configurations with the capacity to simultaneously produce electric and thermal energy because it requires the utilization of different amounts of primary energy to obtain useful thermal or electric energy from fossil sources [153][154][155]. One useful metric that considers the different energy grades of electricity and heat is the primary energy-saving efficiency (η f ) [153,156]. This metric considers the electric and thermal energy output in terms of the same primary energy source, allowing the evaluation (in terms of primary energy) of the efficiency of the system in the conversion of the incident solar radiation into useful energy [156].…”