Performance analysis of photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) solar systems

Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal systems, also called as PV/T systems or solar cogeneration systems, are innovative power generation technologies that convert solar radiation into usable thermal and electrical energy. Such systems combine a solar photovoltaic module, which convert sunlight into electricity, with a solar thermal collector, which captures the remaining energy and removes waste heat from PV module. The performance of PV/T system is higher than that of PV module. To improve the performance of PV/T systems a lot of the studies have been done and researchers keep on investigating these systems. A comprehensive review on these previous research studies are presented here. Many methods and approaches to enhance the performance of the PV/T systems are discussed along with the mathematical models used. The gaps in existing literature are identified and recommendations for future research are precisely outlined. It is emphasized here that only few experimental studies on PV/T systems based on nanofluids are exist. Therefore, comprehensive experimental studies under real atmospheric conditions should be done with these systems, without neglecting effects of variations in mass flow rate of nanofluids. The aim of our study is to investigate the performance of PV/T systems under the climatic conditions of Niamey the capital city of Niger. Niger has a great solar potential with a monthly average irradiation of 9 hours. Thus, a theoretical study was conducted, followed by a comparison of the performance of PV/T system with stand-alone PV module. The obtained results were consistent with the previous works on these systems. The electrical efficiency of the PV/T system increases by 0.1 percent per degree Celsius, and the cell temperature decreased by 15 degree Celsius. In addition, the useful heat and instantaneous thermal efficiency were calculated to be 648.27 W and 66.69 percent, respectively.