Development of a building integrated solar photovoltaic/thermal hybrid drying system

This work presents a feedback of the main experimental studies performed on a solar PV/T hybrid air collector, from optimization to demonstration. Indoor experimental parametric studies permitted to optimize the system basic configuration consisting in a PV laminate inserted into a metal absorber and comprising an insulated air gap at the underside. The main results showed that the modification of the system configuration leads heat rise in PV laminate and thus to the decrease of its electrical performance. The main solution proposed was the addition of stiffeners at the absorber backside in order to optimize its heat transfer surface with the PV laminate. The optimized prototype was, then, integrated into a roof fodder drying installation in Savoy. First thermal, electrical and aeraulic measurements showed that wind velocity has an important effect on air velocities in the air gap, even in drying periods. Considering the existing air gap and indoor tests results, the system daily thermal efficiency up to 27.7%, the PV field electrical efficiency up to 13% and the maximum air preheating of 7.8 °C indicated that the PV/T system is suitable for fodder drying application. As further studies, technical solutions will be proposed in order to optimize the PV installation.