A New Concept of Hybrid Solar Collectors: Polimeric Heat Exchanger for Photovoltaic Panels
Abstract
Hybrid solar collectors are becoming usual in today's society and the growth prospects are good. This work analyzes a new concept of a heat exchanger, made of a corrugated polypropylene sheet, which transforms a conventional photovoltaic panel into a hybrid solar collector. Experimental results were obtained in two experimental benches, one for the characterization of the heat exchanger and the other for testing the operation of the hybrid solar collector. Numerical simulations were performed in Trnsys, with the model validated by the experiments. Preliminary results indicate that for a solar irradiation of 1000 W/m2, about 600 W/m2 are absorbed by the water in the heat exchanger. The electrical generation of the PV panel increased by about 5% due to the cooling of the panel. A factor with a strong influence on the efficiency of thermal and photovoltaic generation is the water inlet temperature. Keywords: hybrid collectors; polymeric heat exchanger; numerical simulation; experimental results.