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Advances in Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) Systems for Combined Energy Production and Efficient Thermal Management

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 24 October 2025 | Viewed by 2580

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cagri Kutlu

E-Mail
Guest Editor
School of Built Environment, Engineering and Computing, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds LS2 8AG, UK
Interests: energy efficiency in building services; thermal energy storage; demand-based system modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jing Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, Hull HU67RX, UK
Interests: heat pump; solar thermal conversion; concentrated solar power; thermal storage; organic rankine cyle; refrigeration cycle
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

The transformation of solar energy into usable forms is an essential field for reducing carbon emissions and increasing the market share of energy generated from renewable sources. Specifically, solar photovoltaic/thermal systems can provide sustainable electrical energy and thermal energy simultaneously, potentially covering most building energy consumption.

Advanced PV/T systems typically include innovative solar panel designs that incorporate both PV cells for electricity and heat-absorbing materials for thermal energy collection. Additionally, advanced thermal management techniques are employed to regulate and utilize the heat generated by the system for various applications such as space heating, water heating, power generation or industrial processes. This Special Issue aims to present the advances in PV/T systems and thermal energy management in terms of theoretical, experimental and economic studies and to provide a deeper understanding of contemporary trends.

The Special Issue welcomes papers related to solar PV/T collectors including flat plate and concentrated solar collectors, solar cooling, heating and power generation systems with ORC, thermal energy storage systems and demand-based system analysis.

Dr. Cagri Kutlu
Dr. Jing Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • solar thermal collectors
  • PV/T
  • solar-assisted ORC
  • compact thermal energy storage

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 4583 KiB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal Assisted Heat Pump Systems Coupled with PCM Storage and EV Charging with Reference to the UK’s National Carbon Intensity
by Cagri Kutlu, Abdullah Dik, Mehmet Tahir Erdinc, Yuehong Su and Saffa Riffat
Energies 2025, 18(4), 920; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040920 - 14 Feb 2025
Viewed by 604
Abstract
Emerging trends in heat pump (HP) and electric vehicle (EV) adoption within communities aim to reduce carbon emissions in the heating and transportation sectors. However, these technologies rely on grid electricity, whose carbon intensity varies over time. This study explores how the carbon-saving [...] Read more.
Emerging trends in heat pump (HP) and electric vehicle (EV) adoption within communities aim to reduce carbon emissions in the heating and transportation sectors. However, these technologies rely on grid electricity, whose carbon intensity varies over time. This study explores how the carbon-saving potential of these technologies can be further enhanced through demand-shifting operations and renewable energy integration. The research compares photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) and hybrid solar heat pump systems that integrate EV charging and PCM-enhanced heat storage to improve space heating efficiency under low solar irradiance in the UK while reducing CO2 emissions. The study simulates solar collector configurations and sizes, combining PV modules and heat pumps to enhance system performance. Control systems synchronize operations with periods of low grid CO2 intensity, minimizing the environmental impact. The analysis evaluates PV/T systems, separate PV and thermal collectors, highlighting their energy efficiency and CO2 reduction potential. Control systems further optimize HP operation and EV charging during periods of high renewable energy availability, preventing uncontrolled use that could result in elevated emissions. Using real weather data and a detailed building model, the findings show that a solar-assisted HP with 100% thermal collectors achieves a daily COP of 3.49. Reducing thermal collectors to 60% lowers the COP to 2.57, but PV output compensates, maintaining similar emission levels. The system achieves the lowest emission with high-efficiency evacuated flat plate PV/T collectors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) Systems for Combined Energy Production and Efficient Thermal Management)
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21 pages, 4715 KiB  
Article
Assessment of the Impact of Direct Water Cooling and Cleaning System Operating Scenarios on PV Panel Performance
by Krzysztof Sornek
Energies 2024, 17(17), 4392; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17174392 - 2 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1353
Abstract
Among the various renewable energy-based technologies, photovoltaic panels are characterized by a high rate of development and application worldwide. Many efforts have been made to study innovative materials to improve the performance of photovoltaic cells. However, the most commonly used crystalline panels also [...] Read more.
Among the various renewable energy-based technologies, photovoltaic panels are characterized by a high rate of development and application worldwide. Many efforts have been made to study innovative materials to improve the performance of photovoltaic cells. However, the most commonly used crystalline panels also have significant potential to enhance their energy yield by providing cooling and cleaning solutions. This paper discusses the possibility of introducing a dedicated direct-water cooling and cleaning system. As assumed, detailed schedules of the operation of the developed direct water cooling and cleaning system should be fitted to actual weather conditions. In this context, different cooling strategies were proposed and tested, including different intervals of opening and closing water flow. All tests were conducted using a dedicated experimental rig. 70 Wp monocrystalline panels were tested under laboratory conditions and 160 Wp polycrystalline panels were tested under real conditions. The results showed that introducing a scenario with a 1-min cooling and a 5-min break allowed for proving the panel’s surface temperature lower than 40 °C. In comparison, the temperature of the uncooled panel under the same operating conditions was close to 60 °C. Consequently, an increase in power generation was observed. The maximum power increase was observed in July and amounted to 15.3%. On the other hand, considering selected weeks in May, July, and September, the average increase in power generation was 3.63%, 7.48%, and 2.51%, respectively. It was concluded that the division of photovoltaic installation allows reasonable operating conditions for photovoltaic panels with a lower amount of energy consumed to power water pumps. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) Systems for Combined Energy Production and Efficient Thermal Management)
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