Advances in Engineering Research, volume 155
2nd International Conference on Advances in Energy, Environment and Chemical Science (AEECS 2018)
Experimental study on the photovoltaic/thermal performance of heat
pipe PV/T component with active air-cooled
Wang Shuang 1,2,a, Luo Huilong1,b,Wang Hao1,c
1
Faculty of Architecture Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming
6505000, Yunnan, China
2
Faculty of Metallurgy and Energy Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology,
Kunming 650093, Yunnan, China
a
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]Keywords: solar energy; heat transfer; PV/T components; electrical efficiency; thermal efficiency
Abstract: A heat pipe photovoltaic / thermal (PV/T) component on the basis of active air-cooled was
designed and constructed. The heat pipe evaporation section was used for cooling the back plate of
solar panel, and the condensation section was arranged in the air flow passage. A axial flow fan was
arranged at the outlet of the air flow passage to strengthen heat transfer between heat pipe
condensation section and air. The collected hot air can be used for building heating, strengthening
ventilation as well as hot air drying. Under the climatic conditions in Kunming area, panel
temperature, cold/ hot air temperature, electrical power, electrical efficiency, thermal power and
thermal efficiency of solar PV/T component were tested and analyzed. Experimental results showed
that, the PV/T component has excellent electrical and thermal performance. Under the condition of
daily total solar radiation was 19.78~23.25 MJ/m2, the average daily electrical efficiency was between
10.84~12.21%, the average thermal efficiency was 26.15~31.68%, the highest panel temperature was
52.3~65.1℃, and the hot air temperature was up to 42.3℃.
1. Introduction
The conversion efficiency of solar photovoltaic cells is mostly below 20%, and more than 80% of the
energy reaching the surface of the solar cell is unable to be converted[1]. Most of the energy converted
to thermal energy is retained inside the solar cell and causes the temperature of solar cell rise. When
the temperature of solar cell is increased by 1℃, the photoelectric conversion efficiency drops by
0.4% to 0.6%. In the practical operation, the temperature of the solar cell can reach 70℃ or even
higher[2]. In 1978, Kern and Russel first proposed the concept of solar photovoltaic/thermal composite
utilization (PV/T)[3]. The PV/T system not only improves the photoelectric conversion efficiency of
the solar cell, but also outputs electric energy and thermal energy at the same time, producing two
kind of benefits. Based on the theoretical study, Trond Bergene and others[4] pointed out that the
overall efficiency of the PV/T system can reach 60%~80%. Zhao Jun and others[5]made an air-cooled
PV/T system, at the same time carried out experimental studies under the conditions of natural
ventilation cooling and forced ventilation cooling respectively. Jing Shuchun and others[6] designed a
PV/T system with aluminum square tube structure, the thermal efficiency of the system can reach
50%, hot water of 39℃ is able to be obtained at the same time.
At present, most PV/T systems are cooled by water or air. When the cooling fluid flows on the back
plate of solar cell, the temperature distribution of the solar panel will be uneven, which affects the
photoelectric conversion efficiency[7~8]. In this paper, the PV/T system cooled by heat pipe is adopted.
The system has the advantages of simple structure, low price, good freeze-protection, compact
structure, high reliability and long service life. In addition, the working medium in the heat pipe
adopts phase change heat transfer, the temperature gradient of whole heat pipe is small, so the solar
panel has good temperature uniformity [9~11]. A heat pipe air-cooled PV/T component was built, and
the photovoltaic/thermal performance of the component were tested.
Copyright © 2018, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 46
Advances in Engineering Research, volume 155
2. Design and Construction of the Heat Pipe PV/T Component
The heat pipe PV/T component is composed of the solar panel, the gravity heat pipe, the thermal
insulation layer, the air flow channel, the axial flow fan and so on. FIG. 1(a) is the installation
diagram of the component with uncovered solar panel, and FIG. 1(b) shows the installed component.
The component consists of a transparent glass cover plate, a solar panel, a side seal and a rear sea.
Insulation layers are set on the side and the back. In the middle of the solar panel back, a rectangular
air passage is opened with a partition, as well as a cold air inlet and a hot air outlet are set up. The
gravity heat pipe is under the solar panel, and a certain angle of inclination should be made when the
gravity heat pipe is placed, so that the condensation section and the evaporation section of the heat
pipe have a relative height difference. The evaporation section is directly contacted with the
backboard, and the heat-conductive silica gel is coated at the contact point to reduce the thermal
resistance between the heat pipe and the solar panel. The heat pipe passes through both sides of of the
flow channel partition. The condensation section pipe is placed in the flow channel in a staggered
arrangement. An axial flow fan is set up at the outlet of the flow channel.
Fig. (a) Installation diagram of the PV/T component Fig.( b) Testing platform of the PV/T component
Fig.1 Physical map of the PV/T component
3. Study on the Dynamic Performance of the Heat Pipe PV/T Component
1000 28
ambient temperature/ C
2
800
solar radiation/W/m
24
600
20
400
16
200 solar radiation
ambient temperature
0 12
08:00 09:30 11:00 12:30 14:00 15:30 17:00
time
Fig. 2 The variation curve of solar radiation and ambient temperature
FIG. 2 presents the variation of solar radiation and ambient temperature on a test day. During the
test, the maximum solar radiation is 951w/m2, the average solar radiation is 597w/m2, as well as the
average ambient temperature is 19.63℃.
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3.1 Study on the Change of the Solar Panel 、Cold and Hot Air Temperature of the Heat Pipe
PV/T Component
FIG. 3 shows the change of the solar panel、the cold and hot air temperature . As the graph shows, the
temperature of the solar panel is 11.4~54.2℃ from 8 a.m. to 17 p.m., which is basically the same as
the change of solar radiation. From 8：00 to 17：00, the temperature of cold air is 13.2~22.6℃, and
the hot air temperature is 13.4~36.6℃. The maximum temperature difference between the cold air
and the hot air is 15.3℃. After 11 a.m., the hot air temperature remains above 30℃. The temperature
of the cold and hot air is closely related to that of the solar penal. When the PV/T component is
activated in the morning, the solar radiation is low, and the temperature of the solar penal is low as
well. The heat pipe does not reach the start-up temperature, so the temperature difference between the
cold and hot air is not great. With the increase of the solar radiation, the temperature of the solar panel
increases gradually, and the heat pipe starts to work, while the temperature difference between cold
and hot air is also increasing. In the afternoon, the temperature of the solar panel decreases, and the
heat transfer of the heat pipe drops. The heating effect of the air in the flow channel falls obviously,
and the temperature difference between the cold and hot air declines.
70
cold air temperature
60 hot air temperature
solar panel temperature
50
temperature/ C
0
40
30
20
10
08:00 09:30 11:00 12:30 14:00 15:30 17:00
time
Fig. 3 The variation curve of solar panel、cold air and hot air temperature
3.2 Study on Electrical Power and Electrical Efficiency of the Heat Pipe PV/T Component
FIG. 4 shows the variation of electrical power and electrical efficiency of the component. The
electrical power is 7.2~201.3W during the test, presenting a similar change rule with the solar
radiation. It can be seen that the electrical power increases with the rise of solar radiation, because
when the solar radiation is within 100 ~ 1000W/m2, without considering the effect of solar panel
temperature, output current of solar cell always grows with the rise of the solar radiation. But the
effect of the solar radiation on the voltage of the battery is relatively small, so the output power and
the solar radiation basically remain a proportional relationship.
From FIG. 4, it can also be seen that the instantaneous electrical output efficiency can reach
12.46%, with an average efficiency of 10.56%. The electrical efficiency increases with the growth of
the solar radiation, and then experiences a slight decrease trend at noon and increases later. Until 14
o'clock, it becomes similar to the solar radiation. The main reason is that the transmittivity of the glass
cover plate changes with the solar incident angle. In a day, due to the change of the solar incident
angle, the transmittivity growth first and then cut down, there is a small low period at noon [11].
Accordingly, the electrical efficiency is consistent with the transmittivity trend, and it also
experiences a small decrease trend at noontime. The average temperature of the solar penal increases
gradually with the growth of the solar radiation, which will reduce the electrical efficiency. In the
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Advances in Engineering Research, volume 155
afternoon, the electrical efficiency experiences a small rebound with the average temperature of the
solar panel gradually falls. The solar radiation has remained relatively high at the end of the test phase,
so the electrical efficiency and electric power declines slowly.
250 16
200 14
electrical efficiency/%
electrical power/W
12
150
10
100
electrical power 8
electrical efficiency
50
6
0
4
08:00 09:40 11:20 13:00 14:40 16:20
time
Fig. 4 The variation curve electrical power and electrical efficiency for the component
3.3 Study on the Thermal Power and Thermal Efficiency of the Heat Pipe PV/T Component
700 50
600
40
thermal efficiency/%
500
thermal power/W
400 30
300
thermal power 20
200
thermal efficiency
100 10
0
0
08:00 09:40 11:20 13:00 14:40 16:20
time
Fig.5 The variation curve thermal power and thermal efficiency for the component
FIG. 5 is a graph that shows the variation of thermal power and thermal efficiency of the
component. During the test phase, the ambient temperature is not high, the thermal power of the
component is 6.8~572.1W, the instantaneous thermal efficiency is able to reach 32.51%, and the
average thermal efficiency is 28.54%. The dominant factor affecting the thermal power is solar
radiation, so the change of the trend is basically consistent with that of the solar radiation. The curve
of thermal efficiency rises first and then declines slowly, which is because the transmittivity grows
with the increase of solar radiation and the thermal efficiency rises accordingly. By the end of the
afternoon, the solar radiation gradually decreases, the average temperature of the component also
increases to larger. The transmittivity of solar radiation declines, and the heat loss of the environment
increases, so the thermal efficiency decreases slowly in the afternoon.
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3.4 Analysis of the Daily Average Performance of the PV/T Component
Table 1 Daily average performance of the heat pipe PV/T component
① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧
Typical Weather tave Gave Ht ηe, ave ηth, av to，max △tmax ts,max
test day
Day1 sunny 21.21 627.07 23.25 10.23 30.72 41.5 19.3 63.2
Day2 sunny 19.63 597.64 22.37 10.56 28.54 36.6 15.3 54.2
Day3 sunny 23.80 553.63 21.65 9.84 31.68 42.3 21.5 65.1
Day4 sunny 17.12 481.05 20.29 11.12 26.15 34.2 12.4 54.9
Day5 cloudy 19.62 547.42 22.46 11.37 28.13 36.3 14.1 56.1
Day6 cloudy 18.52 417.80 21.83 12.21 26.47 33.1 13.7 52.3
Day7 cloudy 20.14 525.30 19.78 11.47 29.79 37.7 16.6 59.0
Day8 cloudy 21.15 561.21 22.10 11.88 29.09 40.6 18.5 58.4
Average — — — — 11.59 28.70 37.8 16.4 57.9
①Daily average ambient temperature, [℃]；②The average daily solar radiation, [W·m-2]；③
Daily total solar radiation, [MJ·m-2]；④Daily average electrical efficiency,[%]；⑤Daily average
thermal efficiency, [%] ； ⑥ Maximum hot air temperature, [℃] ； ⑦ Maximum temperature
difference between cold and hot air,[℃]；⑧Maximum solar panel temperature, [℃].
Table 1 is a daily average performance test of the PV/T component under sunny and cloudy
conditions in Kunming. From Table 1, when the average daily temperature is 17.12~23.80℃, the
average daily solar radiation is 417.8~627.07W/m2, the total daily solar radiation is
19.78~23.25MJ/m2, the average daily electrical efficiency is 10.84~12.21%, the average daily thermal
efficiency is 26.15~31.68%, the highest temperature of hot air is 33.1~42.3℃, the maximum
temperature difference between cold and hot air is 12.4~21.5℃, and the maximum temperature of the
solar panel is 52.3~65.1℃. It also can be seen from Table 1 that when the average ambient
temperature is low, the highest temperature of the solar panel is low, while the electrical efficiency of
the module is high, and the case of thermal efficiency is the opposite.
In this paper, air is used as the cooling medium in the PV/T component, and will not produce the
freezing in the high latitudes, so that the scope of application is widened. The experimental results
show that the PV/T component has excellent electrical and thermal performances, which can
effectively reduce the temperature of the solar panel, moreover the hot air temperature is high, which
has stronger practicability.
4. Conclusion
The active air-cooled heat pipe PV/T component is designed and constructed by using the excellent
thermal conductivity and temperature uniformity of the heat pipe. The electrical/thermal
performances are tested and analyzed. The following conclusions are drawn from this study:
1) During the sunny days, the instantaneous electrical output efficiency of the PV/T component is
12.46%, the average efficiency is 11.56%, the instantaneous thermal efficiency is 32.51%, and the
average thermal efficiency is 27.54%.
2) When the daily total solar radiation is 19.78~23.25MJ/m2, the average daily electrical efficiency
is 10.84~12.21%, the average thermal efficiency is 26.15~31.68%, the highest temperature of the
solar panel is 52.3~65.1℃, and the hot air temperature is up to 42.3℃.
3) The component is simple in structure, low in cost and has obvious advantages of
electrical/thermal performances. The collected hot air can be used for building heating, strengthening
ventilation as well as hot air drying.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation(51766005), Application
Basic Research Key Project of Yunnan Province (2015FA018), and Science and technology project of
Yunnan tobacco companies (2015YN10).
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