Photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) technology: a comprehensive review on applications and its advancement

Abstract

Over the most recent couple of decades, tremendous consideration is drawn towards photovoltaic–thermal systems because of their advantages over the solar thermal and PV applications. This paper intends to show different electrical and thermal aspects of photovoltaic–thermal systems and the researches in absorber design modification, development, and applications. From the previous review articles, it has been concluded that the heat energy exhausted from the PV module can be further utilized in different ways and helps in achieving better efficiency. Furthermore, the types of photovoltaic–thermal systems such as air collector, water collector, and combi system, coupling with heat pump and their application to buildings are also stated. This paper also discussed certain design aspects like modifications in the flow channel by adding fins, thin metallic sheets, roll-bond absorber, and porous media and the effect of these modifications on the hybrid system’s efficiency. Furthermore, the use of the latest technologies such as nanofluids, thermoelectric generators, and phase-change materials improves the overall system performance. The role of soft-computing techniques is forecasting the impact of various parameters on the photovoltaic–thermal system is also discussed.

Modern Eminence and Concise Critique of Solar Thermal Energy and Vacuum Insulation Technologies for Sustainable Low-Carbon Infrastructure

“…The thermoelectric generator (TEG) can be integrated to the PVT STC to convert the waste heat energy into additional electrical power as shown in Fig. 3d [23,24]. The TEG works onto the principle of Seebeck and Peltier effects and it comes with its own limitation in terms of conversion efficiency due to the use of Bi2Te3 material where advancements have also been reported [25][26].…”

“…3. Illustrates (a) glazed flat plate STC [10], (b) evacuated tube flat plate STC [12,14,15], (c) Photovoltaic/Thermal (PVT) STC [16], and (d) Photovoltaic/Thermal-Thermoelectric Generator (PVT-TEG) STC [23,24] Parabolic trough collectors (PTC) equipped with sun-tracking system works on the principle of concentrating solar irradiations, using trough-designed mirrors, on to reflector tubes located in the trough's focal line, as shown in Fig. 4a [31], that heat up the fluid (oil or molten salt) to approximately 400°C [32] and then pumped through a chain of heat exchangers to create superheated steam to be applied on the turbine blades of synchronous generator for the conversion to electrical power.…”

The Influence of Weather Conditions on the Optimal Setting of Photovoltaic Thermal Hybrid Solar Collectors—A Case Study

“…Photovoltaic thermal (PVT) hybrid solar collectors convert solar energy into both electricity and heat. Various types of PVT hybrid collectors have been developed [54][55][56][57], and most of them are liquid-cooled uncovered devices [58][59][60].…”

A Review of the Recent Development of Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) Systems and Their Applications

“…Recent review papers written by Jia, Alva and Fang (2019), Diwania et al (2020) and Rukman et al (2019) include an overview of the different types of PV/T systems mentioned above, and despite some recent work is mentioned, all of them also mention experiments and simulations made on the previous decade. This review focuses on those last five years and intends to show other researchers the most recent development in this technology and what are the future contributions.…”