Experimental and numerical analysis of energy and exergy performance of photovoltaic thermal water collectors

The aim of this paper is the investigation and comparison of PV (Photovoltaic) module and PV/T (Photovoltaic/ Thermal) collectors regarding the energetic and exergetic point of view. A reference PV module and two different flow pattern PV/T collector was experimentally observed and evaluated results were compared concerning first and second law of thermodynamics. Experimentation results are also compared with the numerical results that were obtained by ANSYS Fluent software. Experimentation proceeded in Karabuk, Turkey. As a result, it was concluded that the PV module electrical efficiency is equal to its overall efficiency and is approximately 7.96%. Thermal, electrical, and overall energy efficiency values are 29.08%, 9.74%, and 38.82% for PV/T1, and PV/T2 are 49.68%, 10.19%, and 59.88%. The exergy efficiency of PV, PV/T1, and PV/T2 are determined at approximately 4.63%, 10.64%, and 11.53%. When the exergy efficiency values are compared, solar energy utilization in the renewable energy class for both PV/T collectors formed with the cooling units integrated with the PV panel has been almost doubled.