Towards Improving the Durability and Overall Performance of PV-ETICS by Application of a PCM Layer

Abstract

The main goal of the paper was to numerically analyse the risk of overheating of the Energy Activated External Thermal Insulation Composite System (En-ActivETICS) as an example of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). The analyses were conducted with the coupled power flow method (thermal and electrical) for 20 European cities. All locations were analysed considering the local climate in the context of building performance simulation as well as electricity production. The obtained results allowed for the determination of the risk of overheating, which can influence system durability, accelerated thermal ageing, and overall performance. It was revealed that the risk of overheating above 80 °C is possible in almost all locations; however, the intensity considerably differs between southern and northern Europe. The effect of latent heat storage for better thermal stabilization and overall performance was determined numerically for all locations. Finally, the improved solution with a phase change material (PCM) layer beside the PV panel was proposed individually for specific climatic zones, considering the required heat capacity. The maximum panel temperature for improved En-ActivETICS does not exceed 85 °C for any location.

Thermal performance of two different PV-ETICS integration solutions in a real environment

“…This system was developed and investigated numerically and experimentally within an international research project and tested in the mock-up scale in a climatic chamber. The idea and final solution were presented among others in [4,5].…”

Coupled Model of Heat and Power Flow in Unventilated PV/PCM Wall-Validation in a Component Scale

“…Sci. 2022, 12, 7764 3 of 12 material structures such as PV-PCM components [32] cannot be directly investigated in the existing version of ESP-r. A possible alternative approach is to simulate latent heat storage by a definition of the effective heat capacity function as changeable heat capacity (CHC). In both the AHC and the CHC approaches, the heat capacity function is defined in the same form (direct solution method), including latent and sensible heat, and the change in these parameters affects the next time step of simulation (explicit scheme).…”

Improvement of BIPV Efficiency by Application of Highly Reflective Surfaces at the Building Envelope

“…In the case of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) [11], the increase in temperature can even increase the risk of PV damage or accelerate the ageing effect [12]. Some authors have proposed to use different techniques to cool BIPV, even using phase change materials on the back surface of the photovoltaic panel in rainscreen cladding [13] or composite systems [14]. Although Fresnel lenses are considered the most suitable method to increase the performance of photovoltaic installations [15,16], the overheating problem Energies 2021, 14, 7424 2 of 17 is generally more common than in the case of free-standing or integrated PV building.…”