Combined Photovoltaic / Thermal Energy System for Stand-alone Operation

Abstract

The utilization of solar energy can be made by photovoltaic (PV) cells to generate electric power directly and solar thermal (T) panels can be applied to generate heat power. When the utilization of the solar energy is necessary to generate electric power, the option of using T panels in combination with some heat/ electric power conversion technology can be a viable solution. The power generated by utilizing the solar energy absorbed by a given area of solar panel can be increased if the two technologies, PV and T cells, are combined in such a way that the resulting unit will be capable of co-generation of heat and electric power. In the present paper combined Photovoltaic / Thermal panels are suggested to generate heat power to produce hot water, while the photovoltaic part is used to obtain electric power mainly for covering the electric power consumption of the system, to supply the electronic control units and to operate pump drives etc. Ac and dc supplies are provided by converters for covering selfconsumption and possibly the need of some household appliances. The development and design of the system is made by extensive use of modeling and simulation techniques. In the paper a part of the simulation studies, carried out to determine the energy balance in the electric energy conversion section of the system and the control structure, assuming stand-alone operation is presented.

MPPT Algorithm Based on PV Cell Temperature, Using Open Circuit Voltage Measurement, Combined With PV Cell Cooling

“…Jardan et al [23] also performed the study of PV/T collector, combined with an MPPT device. Nevertheless, that device uses an algorithm based on voltage and current outputs.…”

The effects of dispatch strategy on electrical performance of amorphous silicon-based solar photovoltaic-thermal systems

“…Thus, developing photovoltaic solar thermal (PVT) systems offer a distinct advantage over simple PV or low exergy solar thermal systems by utilizing this waste thermal energy from the PV absorber for heating applications [2]. PVT offers advantages in overall exergy, energy and cost [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Historically, most of the PVT systems were developed using crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV, which have a thermal coefficient of -0.45%/K [10].…”

Modeling and Simulation of a Hybrid Photovoltaic Module Equipped With a Heat-Recovery System

“…A further advantage of such a solution is that a significant portion of the solar energy which would be wasted in the PV process is actually rescued in terms of fluid heating, thus increasing the overall conversion efficiency [3]- [5]. On the other hand, the cooling effect is commonly accomplished through a cold fluid that flows into one or more pipes connected to the back of the panel and can produce significant temperature gradients over the panel and severe nonuniform thermal conditions over the solar cells.…”