Performance Evaluation of Air-Based Photovoltaic Thermal Collector Integrated with Dual Duct and Semicircular Turbulator in Actual Climate Conditions

Byeong-Hwa An, Seong-Bhin Kim, Hwi-Ung Choi and Kwang-Hwan Choi ()
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Byeong-Hwa An: Graduate School of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea
Seong-Bhin Kim: Graduate School of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea
Hwi-Ung Choi: Department of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, Chonnam National University, Yeosu 59626, Republic of Korea
Kwang-Hwan Choi: Department of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: An air-based photovoltaic thermal collector (PVTC) is a system that generates both electricity and heat using air flowing over a photovoltaic (PV) module. This system offers the advantage of easy maintenance; however, it suffers from lower thermal efficiency compared to other PVTCs, mostly owing to the low heat capacity of air. Thus, this study introduces a novel PVTC incorporating dual ducts and semicircular turbulators, which were experimentally evaluated under actual weather conditions in the Republic of Korea. The proposed PVTC was compared with two other types of PVTC: one is a single-duct PVTC with semicircular turbulators, and the other is a dual-duct PVTC without turbulators. The results showed that the thermal efficiency of the proposed PVTC increased by approximately 88.7% compared to the single-duct PVTC with a turbulator and by 9.3% compared to the dual-duct PVTC without a turbulator. The electrical efficiency showed a slight decrease of about 7.2% compared to the single-duct PVTC but an increase of 1.4% compared to the dual-duct PVTC without a turbulator. Overall, the total efficiency of the proposed PVTC increased by 54.2% and 7.7% compared to the single-duct PVTC and the dual-duct PVTC without a turbulator, respectively. These experimental results demonstrate that attaching dual ducts and semicircular turbulators to an existing PVTC increases the daily thermal energy output, which ultimately enhances the total daily energy output.

Keywords: solar energy; photovoltaic thermal collector; experiment; dual duct; turbulator (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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