Performance evaluation of new type hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar collector by experimental study

• A new type hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar collector has been developed.
• The test setup of the photovoltaic/thermal performance of the PVT solar collector filled with graphite has been established.
• The test result shows that the high thermal conductivity of filling layer can drop the backplane temperature obviously.

This paper describes the development of a new type hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) solar collector. The test setup of the photovoltaic/thermal performance of the PVT solar collector filled with graphite was established to compare the conventional PV module and the PVT solar collector filled with graphite. The output power, backplane temperature, the inlet temperature, the outlet temperature and the tank temperature were tested in this study. The photovoltaic/thermal performance of the PVT solar collector filled with graphite was evaluated by the thermal efficiency, electrical efficiency and primary energy saving efficiency. The results show that the electrical efficiency of the PVT collector can be enhanced by cooling down to the backplane temperature. Lower inlet temperatures result in higher thermal efficiency. The inlet temperature increased with increased tank temperature. As the inlet temperature increased to some point, the outlet temperature gradually stabilized. The mean value of electrical efficiency of a PVT collector filled with graphite and conventional PV module were 6.46% and 5.15% between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The highest electrical efficiency of a PVT collector filled with graphite was 7.2%. The highest Primary Energy Saving efficiency of PVT collector filled with graphite was 48% at 10:35.