Energy and Exergy Evaluation of Multi-channel Photovoltaic/Thermal Hybrid System: Simulation and Experiment

In this research, a pilot study and analysis of an innovative multi-channel photovoltaic/thermal (MCPV/T) system in a geographic location (35° 44' 35'' N, 50° 57' 25'' E) has been carried out. This system consists of integrating a photovoltaic panel and two PV/T heat-sink converters. The total electrical, exergy and energy efficiencies of the system at air flow rate of 0.005 kg/s and radiation intensity of 926 w/m2 were 9.73%, 10.72%, and 47.24%, respectively. An air flow rate of 0.011 kg/s and the radiation intensity of 927 w/m2 were also achieved to be  9.35%, 10.40% and 65.10%, respectively. Based on simulation results considering experiments validations, as the air flow rate increases, the overall energy efficiency increases to the maximal amount of 80%. However, the maximum exergy efficiency value has a local optimal point of 13.46% at a fluid flow rate of 0.024 kg/s. Similarly, with increasing channel heights, the total energy efficiency decreased to 70%, and the maximum exergy efficiency has a local optimal point of 13.64% at channel height of 0.011 m. As an overall achievement, the system has higher energy quality (exergy efficiency) in laminar flow regime and has higher energy efficiency under turbulent flow conditions.