A photovoltaic/thermal system with a combination of a booster diffuse reflector and vacuum tube for generation of electricity and hot water production

Using water as a coolant to reduce the temperature of solar cells is one of the best methods for improving the efficiency of a photovoltaic/thermal system. However the heat absorbed from the solar cell panel is not enough for providing domestic hot water. In this article, a new architecture of photovoltaic/thermal system is proposed and investigated. A silicon monocrystalline photovoltaic module is used with appropriate reflectors in order to increase insolation in conjunction with a closed loop cooling facility to efficiently extract the panel's heat. The absorbed heat from the photovoltaic/thermal panel, is used to preheat the water flow before entering four vacuum tube solar water heaters placed on both sides of the photovoltaic/thermal panel. Performance evaluation of this system in comparison to a similar bare photovoltaic panel, showed a significant increase in the system's electrical and thermal energy output.