Experimental performance evaluation of PV/T panels at negative reduced temperatures

This work summarizes the performance of photovoltaic thermal panels integrated with a heat pump in a Solar Assisted Heat Pump (SAHP) system working with a negative reduced temperature. This concept brings about a higher electric production, due to the lower temperature of the panels, and that the heat produced by PV/T panels can be used also during winter period. A detailed experimental campaign was conducted in an outdoor laboratory in real ambient conditions to evaluate the performance of PV/T panels in this configuration. The results show a very high thermal efficiency, which go beyond the value of 200% due to the contribution of the convective heat transfer with the ambient, which has a higher temperature than the working fluid flowing inside the PV/T panels.