IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v159y2018icp786-798.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experimental study on a novel photovoltaic thermal system using amorphous silicon cells deposited on stainless steel

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Jing
  • Ren, Xiao
  • Yuan, Weiqi
  • Li, Zhaomeng
  • Pei, Gang
  • Su, Yuehong
  • Kutlu, Çağrı
  • Ji, Jie
  • Riffat, Saffa

Abstract

Amorphous silicon (a-Si) cells are able to perform better as temperature increases due to the effect of thermal annealing. a-Si cells have great potential to solve or ease the problems of high power temperature coefficient, large thermal stress caused by temperature fluctuation and gradient, and thick layer of conventional crystalline silicon cell-related photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collectors. In this paper, an innovative a-Si PV/T system is developed. It is the first time that a-Si cells deposited on stainless steel have been used in a practical PV/T system. The system comprises of two PV/T collectors. In each collector, there are 8 pieces of solar cells in series. Long-term outdoor performance has been monitored. Experimental results on the thermal efficiency (ηth), electrical efficiency (ηPV) and I-V characteristic are presented. The peak instantaneous ηth,p was about 42.49% with the maximum ηPV,p of 5.92% on April 2, 2017. The daily average ηth,a and ηPV,a were 32.8% and 5.58%. Accordingly, ηth,p, ηPV,p, ηth,a and ηPV,a on October 27 were 43.47%, 5.69%, 38.65% and 5.22%. During more than half a year operation, no technical failure of the system has been observed. The feasibility of the a-Si PV/T is preliminarily demonstrated by the prototype.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Jing & Ren, Xiao & Yuan, Weiqi & Li, Zhaomeng & Pei, Gang & Su, Yuehong & Kutlu, Çağrı & Ji, Jie & Riffat, Saffa, 2018. "Experimental study on a novel photovoltaic thermal system using amorphous silicon cells deposited on stainless steel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 786-798.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:159:y:2018:i:c:p:786-798
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.06.127
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544218311927
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2018.06.127?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eke, R. & Betts, T.R. & Gottschalg, R.,, 2017. "Spectral irradiance effects on the outdoor performance of photovoltaic modules," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 429-434.
    2. Guo, Chao & Ji, Jie & Sun, Wei & Ma, Jinwei & He, Wei & Wang, Yanqiu, 2015. "Numerical simulation and experimental validation of tri-functional photovoltaic/thermal solar collector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 470-480.
    3. Abdolzadeh, Morteza & Sadeqkhani, Mohsen & Ahmadi, Alireza, 2017. "Computational modeling of a BIPV/T ethylene tetrafluoroethylen (ETFE) cushion structure roof," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 998-1012.
    4. Thipjak Nualboonrueng & Pongpith Tuenpusa & Yuki Ueda & Atsushi Akisawa, 2012. "Field Experiments of PV-Thermal Collectors for Residential Application in Bangkok," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Sharma, Vikrant & Sastry, O.S. & Kumar, Arun & Bora, Birinchi & Chandel, S.S., 2014. "Degradation analysis of a-Si, (HIT) hetro-junction intrinsic thin layer silicon and m-C-Si solar photovoltaic technologies under outdoor conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 536-546.
    6. Makrides, George & Zinsser, Bastian & Phinikarides, Alexander & Schubert, Markus & Georghiou, George E., 2012. "Temperature and thermal annealing effects on different photovoltaic technologies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 407-417.
    7. Ji, Jie & Lu, Jian-Ping & Chow, Tin-Tai & He, Wei & Pei, Gang, 2007. "A sensitivity study of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal water-heating system with natural circulation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 222-237, February.
    8. Rozario, J. & Vora, A.H. & Debnath, S.K. & Pathak, M.J.M. & Pearce, J.M., 2014. "The effects of dispatch strategy on electrical performance of amorphous silicon-based solar photovoltaic-thermal systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 459-465.
    9. Tang, Runsheng & Wu, Tong, 2004. "Optimal tilt-angles for solar collectors used in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 239-248, November.
    10. Gang, Pei & Huide, Fu & Huijuan, Zhu & Jie, Ji, 2012. "Performance study and parametric analysis of a novel heat pipe PV/T system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 384-395.
    11. Liao, Wei & Xu, Shen, 2015. "Energy performance comparison among see-through amorphous-silicon PV (photovoltaic) glazings and traditional glazings under different architectural conditions in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 267-275.
    12. Kichou, Sofiane & Silvestre, Santiago & Nofuentes, Gustavo & Torres-Ramírez, Miguel & Chouder, Aissa & Guasch, Daniel, 2016. "Characterization of degradation and evaluation of model parameters of amorphous silicon photovoltaic modules under outdoor long term exposure," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 231-241.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ren, Xiao & Li, Jing & Jiao, Dongsheng & Gao, Datong & Pei, Gang, 2020. "Temperature-dependent performance of amorphous silicon photovoltaic/thermal systems in the long term operation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    2. Ren, Xiao & Li, Jing & Hu, Mingke & Pei, Gang & Jiao, Dongsheng & Zhao, Xudong & Ji, Jie, 2019. "Feasibility of an innovative amorphous silicon photovoltaic/thermal system for medium temperature applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Kutlu, Cagri & Li, Jing & Su, Yuehong & Wang, Yubo & Pei, Gang & Riffat, Saffa, 2020. "Investigation of an innovative PV/T-ORC system using amorphous silicon cells and evacuated flat plate solar collectors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    4. Zhao, Bin & Hu, Mingke & Ao, Xianze & Huang, Xiaona & Ren, Xiao & Pei, Gang, 2019. "Conventional photovoltaic panel for nocturnal radiative cooling and preliminary performance analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 677-686.
    5. Ren, Xiao & Li, Jing & Gao, Datong & Wu, Lijun & Pei, Gang, 2021. "Analysis of a novel photovoltaic/thermal system using InGaN/GaN MQWs cells in high temperature applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 11-20.
    6. Li, Senji & Chen, Zhenwu & Liu, Xing & Zhang, Xiaochun & Zhou, Yong & Gu, Wenbo & Ma, Tao, 2021. "Numerical simulation of a novel pavement integrated photovoltaic thermal (PIPVT) module," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ren, Xiao & Li, Jing & Hu, Mingke & Pei, Gang & Jiao, Dongsheng & Zhao, Xudong & Ji, Jie, 2019. "Feasibility of an innovative amorphous silicon photovoltaic/thermal system for medium temperature applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Michael, Jee Joe & S, Iniyan & Goic, Ranko, 2015. "Flat plate solar photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) systems: A reference guide," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 62-88.
    3. Ren, Xiao & Li, Jing & Jiao, Dongsheng & Gao, Datong & Pei, Gang, 2020. "Temperature-dependent performance of amorphous silicon photovoltaic/thermal systems in the long term operation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    4. Kutlu, Cagri & Li, Jing & Su, Yuehong & Wang, Yubo & Pei, Gang & Riffat, Saffa, 2020. "Investigation of an innovative PV/T-ORC system using amorphous silicon cells and evacuated flat plate solar collectors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    5. Rehman, Shafiqur & El-Amin, Ibrahim, 2012. "Performance evaluation of an off-grid photovoltaic system in Saudi Arabia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 451-458.
    6. Al-Shamani, Ali Najah & Yazdi, Mohammad H. & Alghoul, M.A. & Abed, Azher M. & Ruslan, M.H. & Mat, Sohif & Sopian, K., 2014. "Nanofluids for improved efficiency in cooling solar collectors – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 348-367.
    7. Ren, Xiao & Li, Jing & Gao, Datong & Wu, Lijun & Pei, Gang, 2021. "Analysis of a novel photovoltaic/thermal system using InGaN/GaN MQWs cells in high temperature applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 11-20.
    8. Guo, Chao & Ji, Jie & Sun, Wei & Ma, Jinwei & He, Wei & Wang, Yanqiu, 2015. "Numerical simulation and experimental validation of tri-functional photovoltaic/thermal solar collector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 470-480.
    9. Li, Senji & Chen, Zhenwu & Liu, Xing & Zhang, Xiaochun & Zhou, Yong & Gu, Wenbo & Ma, Tao, 2021. "Numerical simulation of a novel pavement integrated photovoltaic thermal (PIPVT) module," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    10. Bahaidarah, H. & Subhan, Abdul & Gandhidasan, P. & Rehman, S., 2013. "Performance evaluation of a PV (photovoltaic) module by back surface water cooling for hot climatic conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 445-453.
    11. Hu, Mingke & Zhao, Bin & Li, Jing & Wang, Yunyun & Pei, Gang, 2017. "Preliminary thermal analysis of a combined photovoltaic–photothermic–nocturnal radiative cooling system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 419-430.
    12. Rajput, Pramod & Tiwari, G.N. & Sastry, O.S., 2017. "Thermal modelling with experimental validation and economic analysis of mono crystalline silicon photovoltaic module on the basis of degradation study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 731-739.
    13. Ke, Wei & Ji, Jie & Xu, Lijie & Yu, Bendong & Tian, Xinyi & Wang, Jun, 2021. "Numerical study and experimental validation of a multi-functional dual-air-channel solar wall system with PCM," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    14. Zhang, Yong & Hu, Mingke & Chen, Ziwei & Su, Yuehong & Riffat, Saffa, 2023. "Modelling analysis of a solar-driven thermochemical energy storage unit combined with heat recovery," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 722-737.
    15. Ke, Wei & Ji, Jie & Zhang, Chengyan & Xie, Hao & Tang, Yayun & Wang, Chuyao, 2023. "Effects of the PCM layer position on the comprehensive performance of a built-middle PV-Trombe wall system for building application in the heating season," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    16. Zhang, Chengyan & Ji, Jie & Tang, Yayun & Ke, Wei, 2024. "Overall performance investigation of a CdTe double-skin ventilated facade integrated with a thermal catalytic air-type PV/T in heating and cooling seasons," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    17. Tian, Xinyi & Wang, Jun & Ji, Jie & Wang, Chuyao & Ke, Wei & Yuan, Shuang, 2023. "A multifunctional curved CIGS photovoltaic/thermal roof system: A numerical and experimental investigation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    18. Eke, R. & Betts, T.R. & Gottschalg, R.,, 2017. "Spectral irradiance effects on the outdoor performance of photovoltaic modules," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 429-434.
    19. Modjinou, Mawufemo & Ji, Jie & Li, Jing & Yuan, Weiqi & Zhou, Fan, 2017. "A numerical and experimental study of micro-channel heat pipe solar photovoltaics thermal system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 708-722.
    20. Huang, Xiaona & Wang, Qiliang & Yang, Honglun & Zhong, Shuai & Jiao, Dongsheng & Zhang, Kaili & Li, Mujun & Pei, Gang, 2019. "Theoretical and experimental studies of impacts of heat shields on heat pipe evacuated tube solar collector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 999-1009.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:159:y:2018:i:c:p:786-798. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.