PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF PHOTOVOLTAIC-THERMAL HYBRID SOLAR COLLECTOR PROTOTYPES

Abstract

The supply of electricity demand using renewable energy sources has grown a lot, due to the environmental impacts caused by fossil sources. Hybrid thermal photovoltaic (PVT) collectors have been studied and developed in recent decades for energy cogeneration. It uses the solar collector to generate thermal energy, and photovoltaic modules to generate electrical energy, simultaneously. Thermal energy is obtained by cooling the photovoltaic module, through the exchange of heat from solar radiation with circulating air and water, used for cooling. While electrical energy is obtained through the optical absorption of solar cells, which converts solar irradiance into electrical energy. The objective of this work is the comparative study of the electrical and thermal pSerformance of PVT hybrid collectors, using different photovoltaic technologies. In this work, two PVT prototypes were developed with a flat solar collector, one with a photovoltaic module made of polycrystalline silicon and the other made of cadmium telluride. Initially, internal pressure tests were carried out on the PVT's collectors, to detect pressure variations and unwanted leaks inside the piping. The electrical parameters were then measured, using the I-V curve tracer, to evaluate the electrical efficiency. Finally, the thermal efficiency test was carried out on the PTVs, using the continuous solar simulator. All tests were carried out in the GREEN/PUC Minas laboratory. The thermal and electrical efficiency results of the developed PVT collectors were compared with commercial devices. The thermal efficiency values for both PVT collectors were very low, when compared to the efficiency of collectors sold in Brazil, from abroad, requiring further improvement in the devices developed to improve the performance of the prototypes in relation to other similar systems.