Experimental and numerical investigation of a novel photovoltaic/thermal system using micro-channel flat loop heat pipe (PV/T-MCFLHP)

Abstract

In this paper, a novel photovoltaic/thermal system using micro-channel flat loop heat pipe (PV/T-MCFLHP) is proposed, and the thermal and electrical performance of the system is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The variations of temperatures were analysed, and the efficiency of the system was calculated under different conditions, i.e. simulated solar radiation, water flow rate and refrigerant filling ratio. The maximum overall efficiency of the system was found to be 51.3%, the thermal efficiency 43.8% and the electrical efficiency 7.5% with the refrigerant filling ratio of 25%, simulated solar radiation of 800 W/m2 and water flow rate of 400 L/h. Test results were compared with simulation results, and the recorded average error was 10.2%.