Abstract:

Photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collectors were developing to generate electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. Energy production of PVT collectors can be improved with employment of a bifacial photovoltaic (PV) panel. Bifacial PV panel produces more electrical energy since it has the ability to absorb solar radiation from both front and rear surfaces. This study presents a bifacial PVT (BPVT) collector integrated with v-groove mirror reflector by using air as a cooling fluid. The v-groove mirror reflector design was implemented in order to raise the solar radiation absorption from the rear side of the bifacial solar cells. Air flows through the channels to remove excessive heat from the panel in order to enhance panel efficiency. The aim of this paper is to develop a mathematical modeling for energy analysis of BPVT collector and solved using matrix inversion method. The mathematical models were studied at steady-state condition and based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The combined effects of mass flow rate, packing factor of bifacial PV panel and solar radiation on the energy efficiency of the collector were investigated. The results obtained show that at solar radiation of 863Wm-2 the BPVT has the highest energy efficiency value of 57% for mass flow rate of 0.02-0.08kgs-1, at 0.66 of packing factor. In addition, PVT collector with bifacial PV panel has efficiency value of 70% is greater than PVT collector with monofacial PV panel, which has efficiency of 50% under the same operating conditions.<

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