Performance evaluation of photovoltaic thermal solar air collector for composite climate of India

The objective of present study is to evaluate the performance of the photovoltaic (PV) module integrated with air duct for composite climate of India. In this case, thermal energy is produced along with electrical energy generated by a PV module with higher efficiency. An analytical expression for an overall efficiency (electrical and thermal) has been derived by using energy balance equation for each component. Experimental validation of thermal model of hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system has also been carried out. It has been observed that there is a fair agreement between theoretical and experimental observations. Further it is concluded that an overall thermal efficiency of PV/T system is significantly increased due to utilization of thermal energy in PV module. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.