Performance evaluation of hybrid PV/thermal water/air heating system: A parametric study

In this paper, a thermal model of an integrated photovoltaic and thermal solar (IPVTS) water/air heating system has been developed. An analytical expression for the temperature of solar cell and water and an overall thermal efficiency of IPVTS system have been derived as a function of climatic and design parameters. Numerical computations have been carried out for composite climate of New Delhi for parametric studies. Four configurations, namely (a) unglazed with tedlar (UGT), (b) glazed with tedlar (GT), (c) unglazed without tedlar (UGWT) and (d) glazed without tedlar (GWT) have been considered. Comparison of the IPVTS system with water and air heater has also been carried out. It is found that the characteristic daily efficiency of IPVTS system with water is higher than with air for all configurations except GWT. It is also observed that an overall thermal efficiency of IPVTS system for summer and winter conditions is about 65% and 77%, respectively.