Effect of Wavy Tape Inserts and Glass Cover on the Performance of a Photovoltaic Thermal System
Abstract
This study considers wavy tape inserts as a novel method in PVT systems to augment the heat transfer to coolant fluids and in turn, reduce the PV cell temperature. Glazed PVT systems compared to unglazed ones provide higher thermal efficiency but reduced electrical efficiency. This study explores the effect of wavy tape inserts on both glazed and unglazed PVT systems in the span of a certain day in Mashhad, Iran, using computational fluid dynamics. It is found that the wavy tape insert reduces the PV cell average temperature during the day by 5.9 and 7.1 K for unglazed and glazed modules, respectively; while has a negligible effect on the pump power consumption, which in turn leads to improve the overall efficiency by 11.43% and 13.46% compared to the base case, in that order. Thus, using a wavy tape improved electrical efficiency of glazed PVT systems, while keeping the merit of the glazed system in increasing the thermal efficiency.