Concentrated Photovoltaic (PV) Cogeneration Systems

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology systems utilize solar energy to generate electricity. The increment in PV cell's operating temperature causes a significant reduction in the electrical efficiency. In this thesis, a water cooling system was combined with a PV module to construct a type of collectors known as hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector. PV/T collector operates as a cogeneration system by converting solar energy into electrical energy and thermal energy simultaneously. A concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) collector was then formed by concentrating sunlight onto the collector surface using a set of ordinary flat mirrors to generate more electricity and thermal output at minimal costs. Performance of the CPV/T collector was investigated experimentally and compared with a PV module used as reference. The reference PV module was an ordinary i.e. it was neither concentrated nor cooled. The experimental investigation was conducted in January under climatic conditions of Northern Cyprus. By using two mirrors, the CPV/T collector produced a maximum electrical power output of 32.55 W which is 2.17 times the 15 W rated power of the PV module under standard test conditions (STC) and maximum thermal energy output of 126.23 Wh. When three mirrors were used, the maximum electrical power output was found to be 49.74 W which is 3.3 times the PV rated power and maximum thermal energy output of 189.35 Wh. Keywords: Photovoltaic, CPV/T collector, Electrical power, Thermal energy.