Experimental investigation on the thermal and exergy efficiency for a 2.88 kW grid connected photovoltaic/thermal system

Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) systems have been introduced recently for waste heat extraction, to improve electricity generation from photovoltaic (PV) systems and simultaneously utilize it for potential hot water for domestic or industrial use. This study investigated a 2.88 kW grid-connected PV/T system in the terrestrial weather conditions of Sharjah, UAE. The study was experimentally investigated during December when water as a working base fluid was evaluated for waste heat recovery. The electrical, thermal, and exergy efficiencies were examined for the given system, under five different hourly intervals across the experimental period. The results have shown a notable effect of the PV/T cooling method on the terrestrial weather conditions of the UAE. A peak total efficiency of 60% was observed, showing the effectiveness in improved thermal performance because of the active cooling procedure.