Performance analysis of a copper sheet laminated photovoltaic thermal collector using copper oxide - water nanofluid

Solar photovoltaic module and solar water heater are of immense benefits to the common man in terms of independent energy solutions and conventional fuel savings. However, due to the inherent drawback of lower efficiencies per unit area, these technologies are facing some reluctance from domestic consumers for widespread acceptance. A combination of the above two technologies is called the solar photovoltaic thermal hybrid technology which produces electrical and thermal output from the same unit area. But, the lower individual efficiencies of the PV/T collector compared to their individual technologies due to the low solar energy absorption and high thermal resistance between the PV cell and the cooling medium hinders the potential advantages of this hybrid technology. In this paper, a novel photovoltaic thermal collector was constructed by laminating a copper sheet directly to the silicon cell, thereby reducing the thermal resistance and its performance was improved by using copper oxide - water (CuO/H2O) nanofluid. From the experimental setup, it was observed that the nanofluid made a significant improvement in the thermal performance compared to water. Further it can be suggested that the use of a heat exchanger with higher effectiveness can improve the electrical performance as well. The in-house synthesis of CuO nanoparticle, CuO/water nanofluid preparation and nano-characterization tests were also presented.