Design, Development, and Performance Evaluation of a New Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) Air Collector: From Lab Testing to Field Measurements
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Material & Methods
2.1. Prototype Description
2.2. Lab Testing
2.3. Pilot Plant Description
2.4. Measure of Uncertainty
2.5. Mathematical Considerations
3. Results & Discussion
3.1. Determination of Relevant Operational Parameters
3.2. Lab Testing
3.3. Field Measurement
3.3.1. General Performance on Annual Basis
3.3.2. Analysis of Specific Days
4. Conclusions & Future Lines
- The analysis of the operation in controlled conditions showed an almost constant electrical performance, ranged between 15–19%, and a thermal performance that changes a lot, ranged between 15–52% for the individual panel and 11–35% for the 2.5-panel system.
- The thermal side proved to be highly dependent on the operational parameters of the installation, mainly on the internal flow rate and the temperature gap between the inlet and the back PV laminate, and to a lesser extent on the external wind speed. A minimum difference of 25 °C between the air inlet and PV temperature seems to be determinant for an acceptable thermal performance.
- For the individual panel, the thermal/electrical performance ratio of 1:1 is obtained at 50 m3/h and 2:1 at 100 m3/h. For the configuration of 2.5 panels, the thermal/electrical performance ratio of 1:1 is obtained at 80 m3/h and 1.5:1 at 125 m3/h.
- Regarding the pilot plant and considering the one-year operation, thermal and electrical efficiencies ranged between 16–20% (fluid flow around 92.5 m3/h) with no significant differences between the seasons. The energy production was higher during the summer months due to the increase in the solar resource, with a more pronounced difference in the thermal rather than electrical side.
- The current configuration of 2.5 panels penalizes the thermal efficiency with regard to the individual panel, but increases the output temperature of the installation, a key factor for maximizing the energy use. Thus, the selection of several panels in series should be further analyzed according to the particular application.
5. Patents
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Nomenclature
AC | Alternating current |
Adj. R2 | Adjusted R square |
APV | Aperture area [m2] |
BIPVT | Building-integrated photovoltaic-thermal |
cf | Specific heat of air [J/Kg K] |
DC | Direct current |
EEcc | Electrical energy in DC [kWh] |
ETth | Thermal energy [kWh] |
G | Solar irradiance on PVT plane [W/m2] |
H | Solar radiation on PVT plane |
I | Current [A] |
Imppt | Current circulating through the panel at maximum production stage [A] |
Mass flow rate [Kg/s] | |
Volumetric flow rate [m3/s] | |
, Qdot | Thermal power [W] |
PV | Photovoltaic |
PVT | Photovoltaic-Thermal |
SE | Standard error of regression |
STC | Standard Test Conditions |
Ta | Environmental temperature [°C] |
TIN | Inlet air temperature in a panel [°C] |
Tm | Average fluid temperature inside the panel [°C] |
TPV | PV laminate temperature [°C] |
TOUT | Outlet air temperature in a panel [°C] |
V | Voltage [V] |
Vmppt | Voltage circulating through the panel at maximum production stage [V] |
Wp | Electrical power [W] |
WSP | Average wind speed [m/s] |
ηth | Thermal efficiency [ - ] |
ηPV | Electrical efficiency [ - ] |
αPV | Voltage temperature coefficient [%/°C] |
ρair | Air density [kg/m3] |
ΔT | Temperature gap between inlet and outlet of the panel [K] |
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PVT Module Characteristics | Value | Units |
---|---|---|
PVT type | unglazed | - |
Dimensions | 1.984 × 999 | mm × mm |
Gross area, | 1.98 | m2 |
Nº cells/PV cell type | 72/mono-Si | - |
Nominal power (STC) | 380 | W |
Nominal efficiency (STC) | 19.0 | % |
Voltage at MPP, | 40.26 | V |
Current at MPP, | 9.44 | A |
Temperature coefficient of power | −0.39 | %/°C |
Magnitude | Sensor Model | Amount | Range | Accuracy |
---|---|---|---|---|
Temperature | Pt100, several brands | 10 | −50–400 °C | ±0.05 °C |
Pressure | Gems, 526610CLBACT1C-RS | 1 | ±1000 Pa | ±1% |
Volumetric flow | Testo 405i | 1 | 0–30 m/s | 0.3 m/s ± 5 vm% |
Wind speed | Darrera, SKU: 3R FWS | 1 | 0.5–50 m/s | ±0.1 m/s |
Rel. Humidity | SEM160i RH | 1 | 0 to 100%RH | ±3% |
Irradiance | Pyranometer, LP PYRA 03 AC | 1 | 0–2000 W/m2 | 0.025 W/m2 |
Current | HT-RS-0, Herten SL | 2 | 0–10 V | ±0.5% |
Voltage | In-home sensor | 1 | - | - |
Magnitude | Unit | Absolute Error | xi | Relative Error |
---|---|---|---|---|
Temperature gap | °C | 0.100 | 30 | 0.33% |
Volumetric flow | m3/h | 13.52 | 150 | 9.01% |
Solar Irradiance | W/m2 | 1.000 | 800 | 0.13% |
Thermal power | W | 28 | 300 | 9.35% |
Thermal efficiency | % | 0.024 | 0.25 | 9.47% |
Electrical power | W | 2 | 280 | 0.66% |
Electrical efficiency | % | 0.001 | 0.177 | 0.79% |
Sign. F | Adj. R2 | SE | I0 | Ta | WSP | Tm | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.9387 | 0.9385 | 0.0174 | −0.36468 | −0.04705 | −0.00157 | 0.00304 | 0.04658 | |
0.9615 | 0.9615 | 0.0101 | −0.15990 | −0.01697 | −0.00321 | 0.00179 | 0.01605 | |
0.5320 | 0.5309 | 0.0042 | 0.21489 | −0.00028 | −0.00056 | 0.00000 | −0.00083 |
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Simón-Allué, R.; Villén, R.; Brun, G.; Lara, Y.; Guedea, I. Design, Development, and Performance Evaluation of a New Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) Air Collector: From Lab Testing to Field Measurements. Processes 2023, 11, 588. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11020588
Simón-Allué R, Villén R, Brun G, Lara Y, Guedea I. Design, Development, and Performance Evaluation of a New Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) Air Collector: From Lab Testing to Field Measurements. Processes. 2023; 11(2):588. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11020588
Chicago/Turabian StyleSimón-Allué, Raquel, Raúl Villén, Gonzalo Brun, Yolanda Lara, and Isabel Guedea. 2023. "Design, Development, and Performance Evaluation of a New Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) Air Collector: From Lab Testing to Field Measurements" Processes 11, no. 2: 588. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11020588