Photovoltaic Roof Tiles: The Influence of Heat Recovery on Overall Performance
A photovoltaic (PV) roof tile serves both as a roofing material and as an electricity-producing surface. The main aim of the present study was to increase the overall system efficiency of PV tiles by using heat recovery. The chosen strategy was two-fold: determine the operational efficiency of PV ti...
Main Authors: | , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2019-10-01
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Series: | Energies |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/21/4097 |
Summary: | A photovoltaic (PV) roof tile serves both as a roofing material and as an electricity-producing surface. The main aim of the present study was to increase the overall system efficiency of PV tiles by using heat recovery. The chosen strategy was two-fold: determine the operational efficiency of PV tiles and optimize construction to increase the cooling effect when using air as the working medium. A detailed experimental study was undertaken to determine these effects. The results indicated that a combined electrical and thermal efficiency of 24% could be reached. This is promising and proves the potential for air to be the working medium in such systems. Moreover, this shows a direction for future system optimization. |
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ISSN: | 1996-1073 |