Thermal Behavior of Photovoltaic-Thermal Hybrid Collector
Abstract
Thermal behavior of the PV-T hybrid collector was examined using a simulator, where the PV cell is backed by the thermal collector. Heating effect of the PV cell (Joule heating by internal currents) was a main interest in this study. For the hybrid PV-T system, the thermal collector coefficient was prone to be larger in the case without external electric loads (open PV circuit) than in the case with the loads (closed PV circuit). Such trend was able to be explained analytically in terms of the internal heating phenomenon of PV. Results of field experiment by Sandnes and Rekstad (2002) show similar trend to the present one. The maximum heating power of the PV cell was confirmed to be equivalent to the maximum electric power of it. This result seems quite reasonable from the physical point of view. In the present PV-T configuration, the thermal collector coefficient drops significantly due to the shade effect of the PV cell placed in front of the thermal collector.
Keywords
Photovoltaic cell, Joule heating, Thermal collector, Pv-t hybrid collector / simulator