Performance Analysis Of A Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar Air Heater

A photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) air heater is a collector that combines thermal and photovoltaic systems in one single hybrid generating unit. It generates both thermal and electrical energies simultaneously. A new design of a double-pass photovoltaic-thermal solar air collector with CPC and fins was successfully developed and fabricated at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. This collector was tested under an actual environmental condition to study its performance over a range of operating conditions. The test set-up, instrumentation and measurement are described further. It was found that the performance of the collector was in agreement with the theoretical prediction. Results of the outdoors test are presented and discussed.