Comparative numerical investigation of different PVT collector configurations: Energy and exergy analysis

OLMUŞ U., GÜZELEL Y. E., BÜYÜKALACA O.

Energy, cilt.316, 2025 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 316
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.134500
  • Dergi Adı: Energy
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, PASCAL, Aerospace Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), CAB Abstracts, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, Computer & Applied Sciences, Environment Index, INSPEC, Metadex, Pollution Abstracts, Public Affairs Index, Veterinary Science Database, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Collector design, Comparative analysis, Energy and exergy analysis, Finite element method, Numerical simulation, Photovoltaic thermal (PVT)
  • Çukurova Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Electrical efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) cells diminishes as cell temperature increases, making photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors a viable solution to mitigate this issue while simultaneously providing thermal energy. In this study, a comprehensive numerical analysis of ten configurations of single-inlet, two-inlet, and multi-inlet water-based PVT collectors with vertically or horizontally arranged tubes was conducted using Finite Element Method with COMSOL Multiphysics software. A conventional PV panel was also included in the analysis. To ensure a fair comparison, the tube lengths were kept equal across all configurations. Various energetic and exergetic performance parameters were assessed by varying the flow rate (5–50 l/h), solar radiation (200–1200 W/m2), water inlet temperature (10–40 °C), ambient temperature (15–40 °C), and wind velocity (1–5 m/s). Moreover, the study analyzed the effect of these variables on the pressure drop in the PVT collectors. The analysis revealed that the multi-inlet configurations with both vertically and horizontally arranged tube arrangements, along with the vertically arranged single-inlet configuration, exhibited the best performance in terms of the evaluated parameters. The optimal configuration was the multi-inlet horizontal arrangement for pressure drop perspective. The highest recorded thermal efficiency was 0.61, the maximum overall efficiency reached 0.76, and the peak exergy efficiency was 0.15.