Experimental study of a concentrated PV/T system using linear Fresnel lens

Solar energy is an alternative source of fossil fuel. Photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems emerged as an important research area as a result of the rising global concern on the utilization of energy resources such as oil and gas. PV/T solar systems utilize a photovoltaic system to generate electricity and a thermal collector system for hot water generation. In this study, an experimental investigation of a concentrated PV/T system was conducted in December 2015. This study evaluates the performance of pure thermal and integrated PV/T solar system under a concentrated linear Fresnel lens (5.85 Sun). The characteristic of PV module indicates that the 10.9% electrical efficiency of PV cells under normal condition decreases to 7.63% as a result of solar concentration. However, the output power of PV module increased by 28%. The total efficiency of pure thermal and PV/T systems under linear solar concentration reach 46.6% and 53% respectively. These values indicate good thermal and electrical performance under the metrological weather conditions of Shanghai, China. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.