Improving the Potential and Sustainability Index of Photovoltaic Thermal Through an Indoor Experimental Approach

Excessive temperature rises in photovoltaic (PV) devices can diminish their effectiveness and potentially lead to damage. To tackle this problem, photovoltaic-Thermal (PVT) technology presents a viable solution by cooling PV modules while producing both power and thermal energy concurrently. This research examines the functionality of the PVT system employing a model of water-cooled rectangular channel in meticulously controlled indoor trials. The objective is to evaluate the operational effectiveness of a water-cooled rectangular channel Thermal Photovoltaic (PVT) system and assess its impact on energy efficiency and outlet temperature at varying levels of sunlight intensity. The experiment was conducted at the ITS Indonesia Heat Transfer Laboratory, utilizing monocrystalline PV modules and halogen lamps as solar simulators. Key parameters such as temperature, fluid velocity, and solar radiation were documented for the purpose of computing exergy efficiency, sustainability index (SI), and improvement potential (IP). The results reveal that the mean optimal exergy efficiency under a radiation magnitude of 900 W/m2 is 14.1% for different fluid flow rates. At this intensity, the optimum average improvement potential (IP) is 393 W, while the optimum average sustainability index (SI) is 1.164. The enhancement in exergy efficiency and IP increases with sunlight intensity, but the improvement in SI becomes less pronounced after reaching a certain threshold. These findings offer valuable insights into optimizing flow rates and managing heat for the efficient design of PVT systems. These results are significant for advancing the emerging sustainable energy resources, particularly in improving the performance of PVT systems.