Photovoltaic chimney: Thermal modeling and concept demonstration for integration in buildings

Abstract

This work presents the concept of a photovoltaic (PV)-powered solar chimney. We modeled and experimentally studied the integration of a PV system within a naturally ventilated façade (NVF), attempting to use the inherent cavity as a ventilation channel to transfer heat. Thermodynamic models were created to study the thermal and, therefore, the electrical performance of a PV system installed at different positions within the cavity of the NVF. An experimental setup of the PV chimney was manufactured to validate the computational models. Results show low root mean square error (RMSE) values for the prediction of the mass flow and the temperature of the different materials considered in the chimney. A basic sensitivity analysis was performed to find the best position of the PV modules within the chimney for a three-story household in the Netherlands. Optimization showed that with a cavity depth of 0.2 m with PV modules located at the front layer, the electric annual yield is maximized. For the same cavity depth, placing the modules in the middle significantly increases heat flow production, albeit with a reduction on electrical performance.

Photovoltatronics: intelligent PV-based devices for energy and information applications

“…The calculated values for the efficiency limits of each photovoltatronics energy-information chain are in agreement with the reported values in the literature. 58,141,164,166,181 The results show that for a photovoltatronics energyinformation chain consisting of an ideal single-junction PV generator (working under 1 sun standard condition with no albedo) transferring its power through WPT to a white LED (2) concept of PV-chimney integrated into a natural ventilated façade, to use the inherent cavity as a ventilation channel to transfer heat; 182 (3) optimally placed PV module as electricity producer and LiFi signal receiver (merely PV cell); (4) LED powered by clean electricity, working for outdoor lighting and data sharing (merely LED unit); (5) a PV device that can produce electricity, wirelessly transform it, and also send/receive data signals (PV-LED cell); (6) solar road; 49 7storage-integrated PV modules installed on a façade; (8) semitransparent PV cells covering a building for energy harvesting and indoor light management; (9) smart PV modules with high shading tolerability incorporated with sensing electronics for urban monitoring; (10) building added PV modules with wireless power transfer and data sharing capabilities. (11) Solar-powered vehicles with embedded PV-IEA communicating via LiFi between each other as well as ''with the city''.…”

Concepts for heat utilization and passive cooling techniques to improve reliability and performance of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV)

“…Figure 1 From the obtained experimental data, a computational model was developed based on the finite volume approach for the different heat transfer mechanisms and a plume airflow model based on the works by He et al [5]. These models' mathematical details are available in [4]. Comparing the values predicted by the models with experimental data, the temperature values had a relative RMSE value of 7%.…”

“…A AAA steady-state solar simulator provided the irradiance for the tests, and cavity air flow and temperature were also measured. All the details of the experiments are available in[4]…”

Architectural Photovoltaic Application

“…The core concept of this project was patented (PCT/NL2020/050422, 2020), and part of the technical feasibility research was published as a peer-reviewed journal (Ortiz Lizcano et al, 2020). The steps presented in the following section are a summary of the graduation projects of Sander Wapperom (2019) and Andri Lysandrou (2019).…”