Analysis and Evaluation of Photo-Voltaic Thermal (PVT)

Solar Energy System

Name:

Roll No: 02130388

Name of Supervisors:

University Name: Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Technical University

Lucknow (U.P.)

Date:
 Introduction

Solar cells are made of various materials in order to reduce cost and achieve maximum efficiency.
There are various types of solar cell material, the single crystal, poly-crystalline and amorphous
silicon, compound thin film material, and semiconductor absorbing layer which give highly
efficient cells for specialized application.
A number of compound semiconductors can also be used to manufacture thin film solar cells. These
compound materials are CuInSe2, CdS, CdTe, Cu2S, InP. The stability of solar cell made up of
CuInSe2 is appearing to be excellent.
The temperature of PV modules is increases by the absorbing solar radiation which is not converted
into electricity, causing a decrease in their electrical efficiency. For mono-crystalline (c-Si) and
poly-crystalline (pc-Si) silicon solar cells, the efficiency decreases by about 0.45% for every degree
rise in temperature. For amorphous silicon (a-Si) cells, the effect is less, with a decrease of about
0.25% per degree rise in temperature depending on the module design. This undesirable effect can
be partially avoided by a proper heat extraction with a fluid circulation at the beneath of the PV
module [1-6]
Aim of Research: Conservation of Fossil Fuel (Coal/Petroleum/ Natural Gas)
The main application of PVT is to produce electricity so there is great attention to optimise
production of electricity. For better performance of PV module the temperature of module should
be lower. There is requirement of extraction of heat from PV module. The extraction of heat from
PV/T is possible only when cold air or water circulate regularly from back side of the PV module.
Circulating water or air is used to reduce the operating temperature of the PV modules and keep the
electrical efficiency at a sufficient level. The idea of combining photovoltaic and solar thermal
collectors (PVT collectors) to provide electrical and heat energy is not new, however it is an area
that has received only limited consideration.
With increase in price of fossil fuel and their limited availability in nature, PVTs have become an
important area in the field of solar energy research. Although PVTs are not as prevalent as solar
thermal systems, the integration of photovoltaic and solar thermal collectors into the walls or
roofing structure of a building could provide greater opportunity for the use of renewable solar
energy technologies in domestic, commercial and industrial applications.
Objective of Research: Effect of solar cell materials on performance of
a) Semi-transparent Photovoltaic thermal System (SPVT System).
b) Energy and Exergy analysis.
c) Payback time analysis.
 Literature review
Photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) solar systems can simultaneously produce electricity and heat,
achieving a higher conversion rate of the absorbed solar radiation than ordinary PV modules. When
properly designed, PV/T systems extract heat from PV modules, the performance of the PV module
will increases in pick hour. The main application of PVT is to produce electricity so there is great
attention to optimise production of electricity. For better performance of PV module the
temperature of module should be lower

Sr. No. Authors /year Topic Outcomes

1. Poponi D. Analysis of diffusion The prospects for diffusion of photovoltaic
2003 paths for (PV) technology for electricity generation in
photovoltaic grid-connected systems.
technology based on
experience curves
2. Firehun Taffesse Periodic modeling of Developed a mathematical model for
semi-transparent semitransparent photovoltaic thermal
2016 photovoltaic Trombe wall. Overall energy and exergy
thermal-trombe wall analysis of the PVT Trombe wall system
(SPVT-TW) was obtained.
3. A.S. Joshi Performance Analytical expression for solar cell, back
2009 evaluation of a surface, outlet air temperatures and an
hybrid photovoltaic overall thermal efficiency are derived for
thermal (PV/T) both cases. It is observed that hybrid air
(glass-to-glass) collector with PV module glass-to-glass
system gives better performance in terms of overall
thermal efficiency.
4. Arvind Tiwari Exergy analysis of It is observed that the daily overall thermal
integrated efficiency of IPVTS system increases with
2009 photovoltaic thermal increase constant flow rate and decrease
solar water heater with increase of constant collection
under constant flow temperature. It is further to be noted that the
rate and constant overall exergy and thermal efficiency of an
collection integrated photovoltaic thermal solar system
temperature modes (IPVTS) is maximum at the hot water
withdrawal flow rate of 0.006 kg/s.
5. S.A. Kalogirou Hybrid PV/T solar The PVs have better chances of success
2006 systems for domestic especially when both electricity and hot
hot water is required as in domestic
water and electricity Applications
production
6. Ilaria Dynamic coupled The emissivity of the solar cell is reduced,
Guarracino thermal-and- the thermal output of the PVT system can
2016 electrical modelling increase by 10% with almost no loss in the
of sheet-and-tube electrical output due to the low temperature
hybrid of operation of the non-concentrated solar-
photovoltaic/thermal thermal system.
(PVT) collectors
7. A.Tiwari et.al Energy metrics Energy metrices were derived considering
2009 analysis of hybrid the embodied energy at different processing
photovoltaic stages in India
modules
8. G.N.Tiwari et.al A comparison study Studied the annual thermal and exergy
2009 of energy and exergy efficiencies of their proposed PVT collector
performance of a for five different climate zones.
hybrid photovoltaic
double pass and
single pass air
collector
9. S.Dubey et al. Energy and exergy Experiments found that the glass to glass
2009 analysis of PVT air module is able to achieve higher supply air
collectors connected temperature and electrical efficiency.
in series
10. P.Dupeyrat et.al Improvement of PV Developed a PV cell lamination with
2011 module optical fluorinated ethllene propylene at the front.
properties for PV Experimental tests shows that an increase of
thermal hybrid more than 2mA/cm2 in generated current
collector application density for the PVT module
 Identification of research gap and problem
There is requirement of extraction of heat from PV module. The extraction of heat from PV/T is
possible only when cold air or water circulate regularly from back side of the PV module.
Circulating water or air is used to reduce the operating temperature of the PV modules and keep the
electrical efficiency at a sufficient level. The idea of combining photovoltaic and solar thermal
collectors (PVT collectors) to provide electrical and heat energy is not new, however it is an area
that has received only limited consideration.
On studying the literature given in previous page, it is observed that the main problem occurring in
this technology is efficiency and cost. These efficiency can be explained in terms of:

1. Quantum efficiency: the fraction of incident absorbed active photons producing electron
hole pairs is usually very high. The design of cell should be such that at least 95 percent
absorption takes place.
2. Collection efficiency: proportion of radiation generated electron hole pairs that produce
current in external circuit. For 10 percent overall efficiency cells, the collection efficiency
factor is usually about 0.7. Increasing this to about 0.9 would produce >20 percent overall
efficiency cells.

These efficiency can be optimized by experimenting different material used in solar cells,
considering their size, thickness and conversion factor.

The technology used for manufacturing solar cell is also very critical. The proposed research title
contain the effect of different materials on the performance of energy, exergy and payback time
analysis in SPVT system.

Another problem is also observed that the excess energy of active photon appears as heat which
concurrent loss about 33%. This problem has been solved by flowing water under panel but this
cannot be implemented everywhere. It is also considered in research work.

The application of Nano-fluid for comparative transportation of heat from semi-transparent and
opaque PV is also have scope for this study.

M. Y. Othman et al. [7] documents various research activities done in Solar Energy Research
Institute, National University of Malaysia about solar PV/T collector system using working fluid as
air. The concluded that out of various designs, Double pass solar PV/T collector with fins and CPC
showed better electrical and thermal performance than other models.
 Expected Impact on Academics/Industry

PV/T has ability to provide huge impact on academics as well industries. PV/T may produce
electricity along with hot fluids which have commercial as well as house hold applications.

Global climate change and fuel supply security have let to the fast development in renewable
technology including solar energy applications. The installation of solar thermal and PV electricity
generation device are growing rapidly and these lead to increase in the demand of PV/T collector
system. Hence PVT as a renewable technology is expected to first become competitive with the
conventional power generating system.

Development of PV/T with newer material will provide a new exploring area in solar energy
application for academics study and experimentations. Despite sharp increase in academic activities
the development of commercial product and real system applications are still limited, therefore the
comparative analysis of PV/T with different material and difference fluid application will provide
new idea to academician for further research.

There should be huge emphasis on identification of suitable PV materials, manufacturing

Techniques, testing and training on PV/T.

For industrial growth of PV/T there are requirement of potential customer, market strength and
awareness about solar energy and PV/T.
 Methodology of the Research work

The main objective of this research is to analyse energy exergy and payback time for different PVT
for the local climatic condition. Thus different solar cell material such as amorphous Si and
crystalline Si, CdTe, CdS, organic and polymer cells, hybrid photovoltaic cell and thin film cell etc.
are required to perform the exponents. A sensitivity analysis is made afterword to determine the
optimum tilt angle of the PVT both for the hole year and for each month suggestion are given to set
the PVT on specific tilt angles so that the total output of the system is maximise on annual and
monthly basis respectively.

After completing the installation a modelling for energy and exergy analysis is required. As the
next step comparison is made between different PVT system in which different types of technology
is used. Thermal and electrical outputs of these diffent cases, as well as certain aspects like the area
requirement are need to be calculated. Furthermore the payback analysis that is required for the
installed different PV/T system in different condition are compared.

CFD analysis for different fluid can be done on CFD simulation software for analysis of heat
transfer behaviour through PVT. Nano fluid and some phase changing material can also be taken
for transporting heat from PVT.
 Major Inputs (Infrastructure) Required

1. PV module:
i) Amorphous Si solar cell
ii) Monocrystalline Si solar cell
iii) Polycrystalline Si solar cell
iv) CdTe/CaS solar cell
v) Thin film solar cell
2. Pyranometers/ Solar meter
3. Anemometer
4. Humidity and ambient temperature sensor
5. Data acquisition modules
6. TRANSYS Simulation Software.
 References
1. Arvind Tiwari, P. Barnwal, G.S. Sandhu, M.S. Sodha, “Energy metrics analysis of hybrid –
photovoltaic (PV) modules”, Applied Energy, Volume 86, Issue 12, December 2009, Pages 2615-
2625
2. V. Raman and G. N. Tiwari, “A comparison study of energy and exergy performance of a hybrid
photovoltaic double-pass and single-pass air collector,” International Journal of Energy Research,
vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 605–617, 2009.
3. S. Dubey, S. C. Solanki, and A. Tiwari, “Energy and exergy analysis of PV/T air collectors connected
in series,” Energy and Buildings, vol. 41, no. 8, pp. 863–870, 2009.
4. P. Dupeyrat, C. Men ´ ezo, H. Wirth, and M. Rommel, “Improvement of PV module optical properties
for PV thermal hybrid collector application,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 95, no. 8,
pp. 2028–2036, 2011.
5. Poponi D. “Analysis of diffusion paths for photovoltaic technology based on experience curves”.
Solar Energy 2003;74:331–40.
6. Firehun Taffesse, Ashu Verma, Sugandha Singh, G.N. Tiwari, “Periodic modeling of semi-transparent
photovoltaic thermal-trombe wall (SPVT-TW)”. Solar Energy, Volume 135, October 2016, Pages
265-273
7. M.Y. Othman, S.A. Hamid, M.A.S. Tabook , K. Sopian , M.H. Roslan , Z. Ibarahim, “Performance
analysis of PV/T Combi with water and air heating system: An experimental study” Renewable
Energy 86 (2016) 716e722
8. S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos “Hybrid PV/T solar systems for domestic hot water and
electricity production”. Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 3368–3382
9. Kern EC Jr., Russel MC. “Combined photovoltaic and thermal hybrid collector systems”. In:
Proceedings of the 13th IEEE photovoltaic specialists, Washington DC, USA, 1978. p. 1153–57.
10. Hendrie SD. “Evaluation of combined photovoltaic/thermal collectors”. In: Proceedings of the
international conference ISES, vol. 3, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, May 28–June 1, 1979. p. 1865–69.
11. Florschuetz LW. “Extension of the Hottel–Whillier model to the analysis of combined
photovoltaic/thermal flat plate collectors”. Solar Energy 1979;22:361–6.
12. Raghuraman P. “Analytical predictions of liquid and air photovoltaic/thermal, flat-plate collector
performance”. J Solar Energy Eng 1981;103:291–8.
13. Cox III CH, Raghuraman P. “Design considerations for flat-plate-photovoltaic/thermal collectors”.
Solar Energy 1985;35:227–41.
14. Lalovic B. “A hybrid amorphous silicon photovoltaic and thermal solar collector”. Solar Cells 1986–
1987;19:131–8.
15. Loferski JJ, Ahmad JM, Pandey “A. Performance of photovoltaic cells incorporated into unique
hybrid photovoltaic/thermal panels of a 2.8 kW residential solar energy conversion system”. In:
Proceedings of the 1988 annual meeting, American Solar Energy Society, Cambridge, MA, USA,
1988. p. 427–32.
 Time and physical progress of work

Phase-I: 0-12 months

 Literature survey
 Course Work

Phase-II: 13-24 months

 Development of theoretical base of the proposed work

 Up-gradation of lab facilities
 Procurement of measuring instruments
 Fabrication of the lab equipment’s
 Study ,selection and procurement of different PV/T
 Start of experimental setup

Phase-II: 24-36 months

 Testing of the experimental setup.

 Analysis of the experiments results.
 Validation of the experimental results.
 Debugging
 Documentation.