Numerical and Experimental Study of a Photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) Solar Collector

The photovoltaic-thermal collector (PVT) is a kind of solar technology that brings together, in the same equipment, photovoltaic and thermal modules, resulting in the simultaneous production of electrical and thermal energy. This hybrid solar collector is a technology that shows great potential in harnessing solar energy with great efficiency. However, it is still not as fully developed as conventional photovoltaic panels and thermal collectors. The work herein provides an experimental analysis and simulation of a PVT collector. A flat plate PVT without additional coverage is experimentally evaluated in full scale and in real meteorological conditions. An approach based on a numerical model is also developed for the simulation of the equipment in the MATLAB-Simulink environment under conditions imposed by experimental testing. Experimental and simulated results are presented for an analysis of the electrical and thermal performance of the PVT under real operating conditions.