Flexible management of heat/electricity of novel PV/T systems with spectrum regulation by Ag nanofluids

Chunxiao Zhang, Chao Shen, Shen Wei, Yingbo Zhang and Cheng Sun

Energy, 2021, vol. 221, issue C

Abstract: Conventional PV/T systems generally focus on maximizing electricity generation by PV modules only, and they do not balance the generation of electricity and heat for buildings. To match the varying energy demand of buildings, a flexible management method of novel PV/T systems with spectrum regulation was investigated by a 2D-Monte Carlo method. To maximize both electricity and heat generation, 40 nm Ag/water nanofluid (Case 1) and 90 nm Ag/water nanofluid (Case 2) have been proposed as optimal electrical and thermal nanofluids to capture solar radiation. Additionally, the influence from both mass fraction regulation and optical thickness regulation on the flexibility of the two PV/T systems was also investigated. The results from this study indicated that increased mass fraction resulted in decreased spectral transmittances of both Ag nanofluids, with non-linear regulation of system energy output. Additionally, increased optical thickness led to reduced spectral transmittance, but with nearly linear profiles. For flexible management of PV/T systems under varying building energy demand, adjusting the optical thickness of nanofluids can be used for daily-basis optimization, while mass fraction regulation can be used for seasonally-based optimization.

Keywords: Flexible regulation; Heat-to-electric ratio; Monte Carlo method; Ag nanofluids (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:221:y:2021:i:c:s0360544221001523

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.119903

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