Analytical study on the effect of optical filtration and Nano-PCM on The Performance of PV/T Solar Collectors

High temperature is a challenging problem with all solar collectors that are using PV panels for electricity production. Cooling of PV panels using traditional fluids become not effective as for the poor thermal properties of these fluids. Dispersion of nanoparticles with different liquid was found to enhance the thermal properties of these liquids. Nanofluids and Nano-Phase Change Materials (Nano-PCMs) were considered as promising solutions to enhance the performance of PV/Thermal (PV/T) systems. Nanofluids can be used beneath the PV for cooling or above it for optical filtration. In addition, Nano-PCM can be used beneath the PV for cooling and storage. In this study, an analytical solution was developed to evaluate the effect of using nanofluid filtration and nano-PCM on the overall performance of the PV/T solar collector. Four models were examined alternating between the presence and absence of optical filtration and lower nano-PCM layer. Neglecting the storage side, it was found that without optical filtration, presence of nano-PCM below the PV module decreases the overall efficiency (thermal + electrical) by around 6.7%. In contrast, presence of optical filtration decreases this percentage to be less than 1%. Moreover, using the optical filtration alone improves the overall efficiency by 6-12%.