Efficiency Verification of CPV/T for Heating Crude oil in the Field

The concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) technology, which could generate electricity and heat simultaneously, has been attracting considerable attention due to high energy efficiency. However, the concentrated photovoltaic-thermal system has to confront the challenge of opposite temperature requirements for the single receiver part. The crystalline silicon solar cells require low temperature to achieve high photoelectric conversion efficiency, but the thermal part need to generate high temperature for heating crude oil. In this paper, the efficiency of CPV/T system for heating crude oil was analyzed both theoretically and experimentally in Xinjiang. The calculated and measured maximum energy efficiency of the CPV/T were 79.76% and 74.07%, respectively. It is found that the CPV/T could provide the reliable energy for heating crude oil in a year, particularly in severe cold area, compared to conventional flat-plate collector and evacuated tube collector.