Experimental Evaluation of a Photovoltaic/Thermal Air Heater with Metal Mesh-Integrated Thermal Energy Storage System
The objective of this study is to improve the performance of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) air heater incorporating a thermal energy storage system (TESS) that uses paraffin and has metallic mesh layers. In the experimental part of the research, three different pilot-scale PV/Ts have been des...
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/8/3449 |
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| author | Azim Doğuş Tuncer Emine Yağız Gürbüz Ali Keçebaş Aleksandar G. Georgiev |
| author_facet | Azim Doğuş Tuncer Emine Yağız Gürbüz Ali Keçebaş Aleksandar G. Georgiev |
| author_sort | Azim Doğuş Tuncer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The objective of this study is to improve the performance of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) air heater incorporating a thermal energy storage system (TESS) that uses paraffin and has metallic mesh layers. In the experimental part of the research, three different pilot-scale PV/Ts have been designed, manufactured, and experimentally investigated. The first system was structured as a conventional PV/T, while the second (PVT/TESS) was modified with a paraffin-based TESS. The efficiency of a hybrid PV/T air heater was improved by integrating a paraffin-based thermal energy storage system (TESS) with metallic mesh layers (PV/T-MTESS). The performance of the modified PV/T-MTESS system was compared to two other PV/T systems under the same weather conditions and air flow rate. The results of the experiment demonstrated that the integration of mesh layers into the TESS led to substantial improvements in the system’s thermal and electrical performance, as well as its overall exergy efficiency. The improvements were 33.17%, 14.82%, and 58.15%, respectively, when compared to the unaltered (conventional) PV/T setup. Moreover, an enviro-economic analysis has been performed on the developed and tested PV/Ts. Using TESS with only paraffin and with mesh layer-added paraffin reduced the payback time of the system by 2.54% and 9.85%, respectively. Moreover, the annual carbon dioxide saving was improved from 0.079 tons/year to 0.103 tons/year using a mesh layer-integrated TESS in the PV/T air heater. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:04:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-60c53964dc574b8fa2bec9cb7c1eb824 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:04:00Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-60c53964dc574b8fa2bec9cb7c1eb8242023-11-17T19:05:22ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732023-04-01168344910.3390/en16083449Experimental Evaluation of a Photovoltaic/Thermal Air Heater with Metal Mesh-Integrated Thermal Energy Storage SystemAzim Doğuş Tuncer0Emine Yağız Gürbüz1Ali Keçebaş2Aleksandar G. Georgiev3Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering-Architecture, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, 15030 Burdur, TurkeyDepartment of Energy Systems Engineering, Technology Faculty, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, 48000 Muğla, TurkeyDepartment of Energy Systems Engineering, Technology Faculty, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, 48000 Muğla, TurkeyDepartment of General Engineering, University of Telecommunications and Posts, 1 Akad. Stefan Mladenov Str., 1700 Sofia, BulgariaThe objective of this study is to improve the performance of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) air heater incorporating a thermal energy storage system (TESS) that uses paraffin and has metallic mesh layers. In the experimental part of the research, three different pilot-scale PV/Ts have been designed, manufactured, and experimentally investigated. The first system was structured as a conventional PV/T, while the second (PVT/TESS) was modified with a paraffin-based TESS. The efficiency of a hybrid PV/T air heater was improved by integrating a paraffin-based thermal energy storage system (TESS) with metallic mesh layers (PV/T-MTESS). The performance of the modified PV/T-MTESS system was compared to two other PV/T systems under the same weather conditions and air flow rate. The results of the experiment demonstrated that the integration of mesh layers into the TESS led to substantial improvements in the system’s thermal and electrical performance, as well as its overall exergy efficiency. The improvements were 33.17%, 14.82%, and 58.15%, respectively, when compared to the unaltered (conventional) PV/T setup. Moreover, an enviro-economic analysis has been performed on the developed and tested PV/Ts. Using TESS with only paraffin and with mesh layer-added paraffin reduced the payback time of the system by 2.54% and 9.85%, respectively. Moreover, the annual carbon dioxide saving was improved from 0.079 tons/year to 0.103 tons/year using a mesh layer-integrated TESS in the PV/T air heater.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/8/3449photovoltaic/thermalsolar air heaterthermal energy storagemetal meshes |
| spellingShingle | Azim Doğuş Tuncer Emine Yağız Gürbüz Ali Keçebaş Aleksandar G. Georgiev Experimental Evaluation of a Photovoltaic/Thermal Air Heater with Metal Mesh-Integrated Thermal Energy Storage System Energies photovoltaic/thermal solar air heater thermal energy storage metal meshes |
| title | Experimental Evaluation of a Photovoltaic/Thermal Air Heater with Metal Mesh-Integrated Thermal Energy Storage System |
| title_full | Experimental Evaluation of a Photovoltaic/Thermal Air Heater with Metal Mesh-Integrated Thermal Energy Storage System |
| title_fullStr | Experimental Evaluation of a Photovoltaic/Thermal Air Heater with Metal Mesh-Integrated Thermal Energy Storage System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental Evaluation of a Photovoltaic/Thermal Air Heater with Metal Mesh-Integrated Thermal Energy Storage System |
| title_short | Experimental Evaluation of a Photovoltaic/Thermal Air Heater with Metal Mesh-Integrated Thermal Energy Storage System |
| title_sort | experimental evaluation of a photovoltaic thermal air heater with metal mesh integrated thermal energy storage system |
| topic | photovoltaic/thermal solar air heater thermal energy storage metal meshes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/8/3449 |
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