Experimental investigation of a photovoltaic thermal collector with energy storage for power generation, building heating and natural ventilation

Gan, Guohui; Xiang, Yetao

Abstract

A phase change material (PCM) can be used for thermal management of photovoltaics and thermal energy storage. This paper presents a photovoltaic thermal (PVT) system integrated with a PCM as a thermal storage medium for managing the photovoltaic temperature and together with a ventilation duct for preheating supply air or natural ventilation of a building. The novelty of the integrated PVT/PCM system lies in using the PCM as a passive technique not only for PV cooling but also for building heating and ventilation. Experiments have been carried out on a prototype PVT system for different sizes of PCM. The results show that a 30 mm thick PCM layer with a phase change temperature of 25
C can maintain the PV temperature below 45
C and improve the PV electrical efficiency by 10% for about 210 min under 600 W/m2 insolation. Increasing the PCM thickness by 10 mm increases the time for thermal control by 60e70 min. The PVT/PCM system is able to generate a 15 L/s ventilation rate in a vertical duct of 1100 mm wide, 1200 mm high and 100 mm deep during the melting phase and at least 20 L/s during the solidification phase. Use of metal fins to enhance heat transfer in the PCM can increase the PV electrical efficiency further by 3% and the ventilation rate by 30%.

Citation

Gan, G., & Xiang, Y. (2020). Experimental investigation of a photovoltaic thermal collector with energy storage for power generation, building heating and natural ventilation. Renewable Energy, 150, 12-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.12.112

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 24, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Dec 26, 2019
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Deposit Date: Jan 6, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 27, 2020
• Journal: Renewable Energy
• Print ISSN: 0960-1481
• Electronic ISSN: 1879-0682
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 150
• Pages: 12-22
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.12.112
• Keywords: Photovoltaics, Solar absorber, Phase change material, Energy storage, Thermal management
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3637553
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148119319846?via%3Dihub