Thermal modeling of a combined system of photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) solar water heater

In this paper, an integrated combined system of a photovoltaic (glass–glass) thermal (PV/T) solar water heater of capacity 200 l has been designed and tested in outdoor condition for composite climate of New Delhi. An analytical expression for characteristic equation for photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) flat plate collector has been derived for different condition as a function of design and climatic parameters. The testing of collector and system were carried out during February–April, 2007. It is observed that the photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) flat plate collector partially covered with PV module gives better thermal and average cell efficiency which is in accordance with the results reported by earlier researchers.