Photovoltaic thermal technology with compound parabolic concentrator

The hybrid solar system contains a photovoltaic cell (PV) module and a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC). The present study aims to evaluate the potential for the introduction of the PV/T technology in Gujarat, India. The photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) system converts solar radiation into thermal and electrical energies simultaneously. The solar radiation increases the temperature of PV modules, resulting in a drop in electrical efficiency. Through the circulation of water with low temperature, heat can be extracted from the PV modules to improve electrical efficiency. The extracted thermal energy can be used for heating purposes. The individual electrical efficiency of the PV module and thermal efficiency of CPC have been observed to be 13.56% and 53.92%, respectively. The combined efficiency was found to be 79.18%, which is higher than the individual performance of the PV module and CPC. The combined PV/T system is a new era in the solar-based power system.