Design, construction and performance testing of a PV blind-integrated Trombe wall module

A novel PV blind-integrated Trombe wall module (PVBTW) was first designed and constructed in the present study. A series of experiments were carried out to measure and analyze the impact of different inlet air flow rates and PV blind angles on electricity generation and heat gains of the PVBTW module. The results showed that the inlet air flow rate of 0.45 m/s and the angle of 50° were considered to be preferable for the PVBTW module. In order to determine the behavior of the designed PVBTW module, comparative experiments between the PVBTW module and the existing two types of PV-Trombe wall modules, namely PV cells fixed on the exterior glazing (PVGTW) and PV cells attached to massive wall (PVMTW) were then conducted under the real conditions. Through comparative experiments, it was found that electricity generation of the PVGTW module was highest, and those of the PVMTW and PVBTW modules were similar, whereas regarding to the heat gains, the ascending order became PVGTW, PVMTW and PVBTW. Combining heat gains and electricity generation, the PVBTW module was superior by 14.5% compared to the PVGTW and by 14.1% compared to the PVMTW with respect to the total efficiency.