An Experimental Approach to Energy and Exergy Analyses of a Hybrid PV/T System with Simultaneous Water and Air Cooling

In this paper, the effects of simultaneous air and water cooling on the energy performances of a single-pass hybrid PV/T system are experimentally investigated. Both air and water are used as coolants and are tested at four different mass flow rates, ranging from 0.0014 to 0.0026 kg/s. It is found that the overall efficiency of the PV/T system is dependent on the solar intensity and mass flow rate of coolants. Maximum PV/T system efficiency is found to be 62.2% for a simultaneous flow of water and air at a 0.0026 kg/s flow rate, which is 35.5% higher than the efficiency found at 0.0014 kg/s coolant flow rate. Maximum thermal energy outputs are 85.8 and 211.84 W/m(2) while using air- and water-based coolants, respectively. Exergy analysis of the developed system indicates that exergy efficiency increased by up to two times by introducing simultaneous air and water cooling in this PV/T system.

Automated summary

This paper experimentally investigates the effects of simultaneous air and water cooling on the energy performances of a single-pass hybrid PV/T system. The study finds that the overall efficiency of the system is dependent on the solar intensity and mass flow rate of coolants. The introduction of simultaneous air and water cooling significantly increases the efficiency and thermal energy outputs of the PV/T system.