Energy and Economic Evaluation of Hybrid Photovoltaic–Thermal Collector: An Experimental Approach

Photovoltaic panels (PV) have gained significant attention in recent years to generate affordable and clean solar energy. However, their performance significantly decreases as their cell temperature increases, which is strongly influenced by ambient temperature. In this research, the overall efficiency of PV panels is attempted to be improved by converting a standalone PV into a Photovoltaic–Thermal (PVT) air collector by connecting a wooden air duct on the back of PV panels. The hybrid system simultaneously generates electrical as well as thermal energy. As per the findings, the hybrid PVT air collector can produce around 10% more electrical energy as compared to the simple PV. The system can also produce additional thermal energy, equivalent to over 2.3 times the rated electrical power of PV panels. The air outlet temperature has been found to be strongly dependent on the ambient temperature. A regression analysis has been conducted to establish the correlation between air outlet temperature and ambient temperature, and a linear regression model was found to be the best-fit representation with an R-Sq value of 99.6% and an R-Square adjusted of 99.5%. Moreover, a new parameter named the Coefficient of Heat is introduced to evaluate the thermal rating of the PVT system. An economic analysis of the PVT module has also been conducted by calculating the key financial parameters like Annual Savings (AS), Net Present Value (NPV), Life Cycle Cost (LCC), Benefit-to-Cost Ratio (B/C), and Simple Payback, and the system shows positive results with an impressive B/C of 2.47 and Simple Payback of just 2.46 years.