Thermal-electrical optimization of the configuration a liquid PVT collector

The study focuses on the optimal thermal and electrical configuration of hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) collectors. The electrical production of a PVT system is, in fact, highly affected by the temperature of the PV cells. In a PVT collector a temperature gradient exists along the absorber, so not all cells may be able to operate with the same electrical characteristics due to their temperature coefficient. In order to evaluate temperature distribution on solar cells, thermal analysis has been carried out with computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software. The study was focused on two absorbers types, characterized by different designs: a serpentine tube absorber and a parallel tubes absorber. Starting from the thermal analysis, alternative electrical configurations were simulated in order to define the best solution to maximize as much as possible the photovoltaic performance.