Design development and performance evaluation of photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) air base solar collector

F. Hussain 1, M.Y.H Othman 2, K. Sopian 2, B. Yatim 2, H. Ruslan 2, H. Othman 1

1. National Metrology Institute of Malaysia, Lot PT 4803 Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, 43900 Sepang, Malaysia
2. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Malaysia
   

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 25, September 2013

Recently, photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collectors are popular technologies towards harvesting solar energy. A PV/T collector is a combination of photovoltaic and solar thermal components integrated into one system that capable of producing both electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. The concept and design of a PV/T collector are being developed in order to improve the electrical efficiency of a photovoltaic module at high temperature.

This paper elaborates literatures of the design developed and the performances of a PV/T air base collector. Early research works in this area until recently are focusing on their design characteristics and results. This report also covers research works on future development of a PV/T collector as a building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPVT) system. It clearly shows that, by appropriate architectural design and configuration, the future of a PV/T collector can be encouraging as an alternative application in the residential, industrial and commercial buildings.