Experimental and model validation of photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) air collector: exergy analysis

Abstract

Solar energy is a renewable energy that can produce heat via a thermal system and generate electricity via a photovoltaic (PV) module. A photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collector is a system that has a PV module combined with a thermal collector system. The PVT collector is a popular technology for harvesting solar energy. A PVT collector can generate both electrical and thermal energies simultaneously. The study aims to validate the PV and outlet temperature for various mass flow rates and solar radiation. To develop a predictive model, a steady-state energy analysis of a PVT air collector was performed. An energy balance equation was solved using the matrix inversion method. The theoretical model was developed and validated against the experimental results, which have a similar trend and are consistent with the experimental results. On the other hand, the validated model was used to study the performances of PVT air collectors using exergy analysis for the mass flow rate ranging from 0.007 kg/s to 0.07 kg/s and solar radiation ranging from 385 W/m2 to 820 W/m2. The result from the mathematical model was found to be consistent with the experimental data with an accuracy of about 95 %. The average PVT exergy efficiency was found to be 12.7 % and 12.0 % for the theoretical and experimental studies, respectively.