Indexed by:Journal Papers

Date of Publication:2016-01-01

Journal:ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

Included Journals:SCIE、EI、Scopus

Volume:35

Issue:1

Page Number:263-270

ISSN No.:1944-7442

Key Words:concentrating photovoltaic; thermal; exergetic efficiency; PV module; solar radiation; thermal unit

Abstract:In this study, we investigated a concentrating solar photovoltaic/thermal system that uses solar radiation in the visible and infrared ranges separately. In this system, photoelectric and photothermal conversions are achieved independently via the thermal unit and the photovoltaic (PV) module, respectively. The operation of the thermal unit is not affected by temperature limitations imposed by the PV module. The results indicate that water as the working fluid in the thermal unit directly absorbs 33% of the solar radiation. When the mass flow rate was reduced, the water temperature at the thermal unit outlet increased; however, both the temperature and the electrical efficiency of the solar cell remained constant. When the solar radiation increased from 640 to 3200 W/m(2), the concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) system produced high-grade heat with an only 1.4% drop in electrical efficiency. Moreover, the exergetic efficiency of the CPV/T system increased with increasing incident solar irradiance. (c) 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 35: 263-270, 2016