Energy assessment and monitoring of a novel photovoltaic‐thermal collector designed for solar‐assisted heat pump systems

Abstract

Hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collectors have been widely investigated in recent decades since they ensure higher performances and compactness with respect to the two sub-components. In this study, a novel covered PVT water collector, specifically designed to be coupled with heat pumps, is presented. The PV-cells are directly laminated on the aluminium roll-bond absorber without the usual front glass layer, while a glass cover is added after the lamination, creating an air gap with the PV-absorber laminate. The novel collector has electrical features similar to those of uncovered PVTs, in which the front glass layer is laminated in contact with PV-cells and even better performances than a traditional covered collector, which has a second glass cover on top. The electric performances of the PVT, operated in stand-alone mode and solar-assisted mode, were monitored and compared with a traditional PV module, obtaining interesting results in both conditions. In particular, the novel PVT showed comparable and even better electric performances than the traditional PV when combined with the heat pump, thanks to PV-cells active cooling. The work proves that the proposed manufacturing technique could lead to a new generation of hybrid collectors, which may achieve competitive performances when integrated with heat pumps.

Techno‐economic, environmental and risk analysis of coordinated electricity distribution and district heating networks with flexible energy resources

“…However, the long and cold winters in Nordic countries make high heat demands [3]. In this regard, district heating systems (DHSs) can be considered as a promising approach to using the extra energy of WPPs by consuming it in heat pumps (HPs) and heat transfer through hot water pipelines to provide heat demands [4]. Therefore, DHSs can play a key role in the cost-effective decarburization of energy distribution systems and use primary energy at a lower cost [5].…”

BP neural network-based prediction and optimal control of thermoelectric output of distributed solar PV/T systems

“…Improvements were proposed in the literature [15] to enhance the performance and compactness of the two subassemblies of the hybrid PV/T collector. A vacuum collector was used as the main heat absorber and was fixed in the vacuum duct.…”