Quantifying The Environmental Implications Of Solar Thermal Technologies: A Comprehensive Examination Of Life Cycle Impacts And Payback Periods
Abstract
This study evaluates the sustainability of solar technologies though life-cycle analysis. A comparison is made of the embedded-carbon of solar thermal evacuated tubes, photovoltaic thermal (PVT) evacuated tubes and photovoltaic (PV) panels. The solar thermal collectors are found to have the lowest embedded carbon (0.172 kgCO2eq /Wp), followed by PVT (0.344 kgCO2eq /Wp), with the highest being PV (0.81 kgCO2eq /Wp). The solar thermal collectors exhibit a carbon payback period of 1.25 years, whereas hybrid PVT collectors require 3.25 years. While hybrid PVT collectors exhibit a prolonged carbon payback period due to higher greenhouse gas emissions from the PV element and associated manufacturing and disposal intensities of silicon, their embodied carbon remains lower or comparable to that of PV modules utilizing the same energy-intensive PERC silicon cells. This research addresses a gap in the existing literature on life cycle analysis (LCAs) of solar thermal technologies.