With global warming already exceeding 1°C due to anthropogenic emissions, research in renewable energy and their deployment is more crucial than ever. This work investigates the adaption of the circular liquid encapsulated PV architecture researched by TU Delft and Biosphere Solar into a novel photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collector. In this adapted PVT architecture, the solar cells would be immersed in the cooling agent. By increasing the heat transfer area between the cells and the cooling liquid, the cooling performance and thus thermal efficiency of the PVT should be enhanced. Two different prototypes are made and steps are taken towards characterizing the performance of this novel PVT design. An experimental arrangement is designed and built to characterize the thermal performance of these collectors using a reduced temperature approach. This involves a solar simulator, source measure unit, flow meter, pump, heating element, and temperature sensors. However, combined electrical and
thermal efficiencies cannot be measured due to limitations in the experimental arrangement. While
the thermal efficiency is measured, the electrical efficiency is only recorded for short time intervals.
Separate electrical and thermal efficiencies are respectively recorded up to 20.73% ± 0.60 % for the
cell area and 42% ± 7% relative to the entire collector area. A correlation is established between these
efficiencies and the PVT’s reduced temperature, representing its operating conditions, for specific flow
rates. To do this, the electrical efficiency is estimated throughout the experiments via the cell tempera-
ture estimated from the initial recorded electrical efficiency and the thermal efficiency. The established
correlations between the efficiencies and reduced temperature are used to estimate the combined yield
of this novel design in the field by making some assumptions. In Amsterdam, this results in an annual
production of 344 kWh/m2 of heat and 217 kWh/m2 of electricity.
Nonetheless, most of the electricity and heat produced by a PVT is curtailed as it is generated in
summer when there is little demand while it supplies very little in winter when it is needed. Thus, to
increase the PVT’s performance in a residential heating system, it is integrated with a heat pump and
seasonal storage system. Compared to the base case using only a heat pump, a PVT and heat pump
system reduces the annual electrical energy consumption by 29.4%. Moreover, a combined PVT, heat
pump and seasonal storage system reduced the annual electricity consumption by 1.7% relative to the
heat pump only scenario and the peak electrical power load is shifted to summer ... Read more