View in EDS

A comparative performance evaluation and sensitivity analysis of a photovoltaic-thermal system with radiative cooling.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: A comparative performance evaluation and sensitivity analysis of a photovoltaic-thermal system with radiative cooling.
Authors: Ahmed, Salman1 (AUTHOR), Li, Zhenpeng1 (AUTHOR), Ma, Tao1 (AUTHOR) tao.ma@connect.polyu.hk, Javed, Muhammad Shahzad1 (AUTHOR), Yang, Hongxing2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells. Mar2021, Vol. 221, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Subject Terms: *Building-integrated photovoltaic systems, *Solar cells, Sensitivity analysis, Cooling, Glass coatings, Polydimethylsiloxane
Abstract: Radiative cooling (RC) of solar cells has received growing attention in recent years primarily due to its passive nature as compared to the other active cooling techniques. By using novel high emittance materials, the RC technique can also be integrated with a photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) system, to eventually improve the system's total efficiency (electrical and thermal output) during the day and provide additional cooling power at night. To quantify the effect of enhanced RC in a PVT system, this study investigated the performance of a regular glass encapsulated PVT module, and a spectrally modified module by using a polydimethylsiloxane coating on top of the glass layer to simulate enhanced RC. An experimentally validated simulation model was developed for performance comparison. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to investigate the influence of varying input parameters on system output performance. Results show that during the day, solar cell operating temperature reduced by most 1.7 °C, and electrical efficiency and total exergy efficiency increased by 0.76% and 0.5%, respectively. As for nighttime, an additional 4–7 W/m2 cooling power can be obtained. Although some improvements, the potential gains achieved by integrating enhanced RC in PVT systems are not substantially large as compared to the regular glass encapsulation in commercial PVT modules, since glass naturally has a fairly high emittance in the atmospheric window. • Developed a verified model for a photovoltaic-thermal system with radiative cooling. • Compared the performance between glass and polydimethylsiloxane coated top layer. • Conducted sensitivity analysis to evaluate the influence of varying input parameters. • Enhanced radiative cooling showed some improvements in the system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: GreenFILE
Description
Abstract:Radiative cooling (RC) of solar cells has received growing attention in recent years primarily due to its passive nature as compared to the other active cooling techniques. By using novel high emittance materials, the RC technique can also be integrated with a photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) system, to eventually improve the system's total efficiency (electrical and thermal output) during the day and provide additional cooling power at night. To quantify the effect of enhanced RC in a PVT system, this study investigated the performance of a regular glass encapsulated PVT module, and a spectrally modified module by using a polydimethylsiloxane coating on top of the glass layer to simulate enhanced RC. An experimentally validated simulation model was developed for performance comparison. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to investigate the influence of varying input parameters on system output performance. Results show that during the day, solar cell operating temperature reduced by most 1.7 °C, and electrical efficiency and total exergy efficiency increased by 0.76% and 0.5%, respectively. As for nighttime, an additional 4–7 W/m2 cooling power can be obtained. Although some improvements, the potential gains achieved by integrating enhanced RC in PVT systems are not substantially large as compared to the regular glass encapsulation in commercial PVT modules, since glass naturally has a fairly high emittance in the atmospheric window. • Developed a verified model for a photovoltaic-thermal system with radiative cooling. • Compared the performance between glass and polydimethylsiloxane coated top layer. • Conducted sensitivity analysis to evaluate the influence of varying input parameters. • Enhanced radiative cooling showed some improvements in the system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:09270248
DOI:10.1016/j.solmat.2020.110861