Computational Simulation and Analysis of Major Control Parameters of Time-Dependent PV/T Collectors

TL;DR

This paper validates and improves a computational thermal model for PV/T collectors, analyzing key control parameters and their effects on thermal and electrical performance, with simulation results closely matching experimental data.

Contribution

Introduces an improved computational thermal model and a detailed electrical model for PV/T collectors, enhancing understanding of control parameters' effects on system performance.

Findings

Simulation results align well with experimental data

Time-step granularity affects simulation accuracy

Recommendations for improving PV/T system efficiency

Abstract

In order to improve performance of photovoltaic/thermal (or PV/T for simplicity) collectors, this paper firstly validated a previous computational thermal model and then introduced an improved computational thermal model to investigate the effects of the major control parameters on the thermal performance of PV/T collectors, including solar cell temperature, back surface temperature, and outlet water temperature. Besides, a computational electrical model of PV/T system was also introduced to elaborate the relationship of voltage, current and power of a PV module (MSX60 polycrystalline solar cell) used in an experiment in the literature. Simulation results agree with the experimental data very well. The effects of the time-steps from 1 hour to minute, which is closed to the real time, were also reported. At last, several suggestions to improve the efficiency of PV/T system were illustrated.