Absorption of solar radiation increases the temperature of photovoltaic (PV) cells, resulting in a drop of electrical efficiency. A hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar system was designed, fabricated and experimentally investigated in this work. To actively cool the PV cells, a parallel array of ducts with inlet/outlet manifold was designed for uniform airflow distribution and attached to the back of the PV panel. Experiments were performed with and without active cooling. A linear trend between the efficiency and temperature was found. Without active cooling, the temperature of the panel was high and solar cells can only achieve an efficiency of 8 to 9%. However, when the panel was operated under active cooling condition, the temperature dropped significantly leading to an increase in efficiency of solar cells between 12 and 14%.
| Author: Han Guan Teo |
| Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing |
| Publication Date: Oct 26, 2010 |
| Number of Pages: 148 pages |
| Binding: Paperback or Softback |
| ISBN-10: 3843368260 |
| ISBN-13: 9783843368261 |
