Investigation of Energy and Exergy Configurations for Parabolic Trough Photovoltaic/Thermal Designs

Making a PVT system hybrid is to support the use of thermal and electrical energy simultaneously or independently, to control the thermal effect to improve electrical efficiency or vice-versa. This research makes use of the Parabolic Trough design with emphasis on making the system to be sustainable and also increasing the thermal efficiency of the system. A polystyrene coated copper tube surface with heat sinks on the top surface is utilised to maximise the heat retention capability of the system. To power the pump that makes the heat transfer fluid (tested with salt water proportions) to move within the copper tube, a set of solar PV panel is to support its power demand making it sustainable. The closed loop setup designed achieved an improved thermal efficiency level of 57.3 percent, which contributes to having a reliable heat energy source for applications such as hot showers. The novel setup design also make use of PV cells to support other energy surface demands through power electronic control designs.