Experimental investigation of an optical water filter for Photovoltaic/Thermal conversion module

Abstract This paper presents an experimental investigation of a novel optical water filter used for Photovoltaic/Thermal and Concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal modules. A water layer is used as a spectrum splitter of solar radiation placed above the photovoltaic cells and as a thermal working fluid simultaneously. The water layer absorbs the ultraviolet and part of infrared, which are not used by the photovoltaic, but transmits the visible and some of infrared to the solar cell surface which are used by the photovoltaic. In this work, the transmittance of the optical water filter was measured for different water thicknesses (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 cm) and radiation wavelength ranging from 0.35 to 1 μm. Results show that there is a significant effect of the water layer thickness on the transmittance of the spectra where the transmittance decreases as the water layer increases. Moreover, energy conversion rate of photovoltaic with the optical water filter at different water layer thicknesses has been determined.

[1]  Stephan Paredes,et al.  A novel concept of energy reuse from high concentration photovoltaic thermal (HCPVT) system for desalination , 2012 .

[2]  C. Ménézo,et al.  Study of the thermal and electrical performances of PVT solar hot water system , 2014 .

[3]  Mehmet F. Orhan,et al.  Concentrated photovoltaic thermal (CPVT) solar collector systems: Part I – Fundamentals, design considerations and current technologies , 2015 .

[4]  Heinrich Häberlin.  Photovoltaics: System Design and Practice , 2012 .

[5]  Xu Liu,et al.  Experimental investigation on the photovoltaic–thermal solar heat pump air-conditioning system on water-heating mode , 2010 .

[6]  Manuel Fuentes,et al.  Modelling the influence of atmospheric conditions on the outdoor real performance of a CPV (Concentrated Photovoltaic) module , 2014 .

[7]  Ibrahim Dincer,et al.  Performance analysis of photovoltaic systems: A review , 2009 .

[8]  Yao-Tung Hsu,et al.  Development of the high concentration III-V photovoltaic system at INER, Taiwan , 2009 .

[9]  Reinhard Radermacher,et al.  A high efficiency solar air conditioner using concentrating photovoltaic/thermal collectors , 2012 .

[10]  D. Mckenzie,et al.  Incoherent reflection processes : a discrete approach , 1996 .

[11]  Siddig Omer,et al.  Advancements in hybrid photovoltaic systems for enhanced solar cells performance , 2015 .

[12]  Nila Keumala,et al.  THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SUSTAINABLE FLOWING WATER FILM IN IMPROVING THE SOLAR-OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF GLAZING IN THE TROPICS , 2014 .

[13]  E. V. Dyk,et al.  Characterization of a low concentrator photovoltaics module , 2012 .

[14]  Andrew A. O. Tay,et al.  Testing of two different types of photovoltaic–thermal (PVT) modules with heat flow pattern under tropical climatic conditions , 2013 .

[15]  A. Meijerink,et al.  Solar Spectrum Conversion for Photovoltaics Using Nanoparticles , 2012 .

[16]  J. L. Balenzategui,et al.  Estimation of photovoltaic module yearly temperature and performance based on Nominal Operation Cell Temperature calculations , 2004 .

[17]  Matthias Rommel,et al.  Application of Unglazed PVT Collectors for Domestic Hot Water Pre-heating in a Development and Testing System , 2014 .

[18]  Swapnil Dubey,et al.  Fundamentals of Photovoltaic Modules and their Applications , 2010 .

[19]  Dongsheng Wen,et al.  Characterization of the InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cell with a two-stage dish-style concentration system , 2013 .

[20]  Said Farahat,et al.  An improved thermal and electrical model for a solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) air collector , 2010 .

[21]  Bin-Juine Huang,et al.  Feasibility study of one axis three positions tracking solar PV with low concentration ratio reflector , 2007 .

[22]  J. Golden,et al.  Optical properties of liquids for direct absorption solar thermal energy systems , 2009 .

[23]  E. Radziemska.  The effect of temperature on the power drop in crystalline silicon solar cells , 2003 .

[24]  M. Al-Nimr,et al.  Performance of Photovoltaic Module for Different Sites in Iraq , 2013 .

[25]  Laura Schaefer,et al.  System simulation of a linear concentrating photovoltaic system with an active cooling system , 2012 .

[26]  Kamaruzzaman Sopian,et al.  Recent advances in flat plate photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collectors , 2011 .

[27]  Björn Karlsson,et al.  Optimisation of reflector and module geometries for stationary, low-concentrating, facade-integrated photovoltaic systems , 2003 .

[28]  R. Leutz,et al.  Nonimaging fresnel lenses : design and performance of solar concentrators , 2001 .

[29]  Björn Karlsson,et al.  Angular characterization of low concentrating PV-CPC using low-cost reflectors , 2008 .

[30]  Shyam,et al.  Analytical expression of temperature dependent electrical efficiency of N-PVT water collectors connected in series , 2015 .