Insight into the Investigation of Thermo-Electrical Performance of Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal Air-Collector

Overheating of photovoltaic (PV) cells is among the prevalent factor that degrades their functionality and reduces their conversion efficiency. Therefore, arrangement of thermal management is required below the PV module to absorb the heat from the PV module. That type of system is known as hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) systems. In PVT system, a cooling channel is used at the bottom of the PV module to enhance the electrical efficiency (ηele). The present study aims to assess the performance of PVT air-collectors under different weather conditions using cloud based dataset. The PVT air-collector possesses the capability to produce thermal energy while also enhancing ηele. The findings of the numerical analysis indicate that the PVT air-collector demonstrates enhanced electrical performance in contrast to PV system. The temperature attained across each layer of conventional PV system is higher in contrast to hybrid PVT air-collector. The PVT air-collector ηele on average is 11.79%, whereas for conventional PV system it is 10.35%. © The Institution of Engineers (India) 2024.