The design, experimental and numerical study on a novel double-skin glass ventilation wall with PV blind integrated with thermal catalytic materials for synergistic energy generation and air purification

The application of photovoltaic (PV) technology on double-skin glass ventilation wall can increase its functionality and solar utilization efficiency. However, PV modules don't make multi-effect use of heat while generating electricity. Considering that the combination of thermal catalytic (TC) and PV blinds can solve this problem and achieve synergy effect, a novel double-skin glass ventilation wall with PV blind integrated with thermal catalytic materials (PV&TC-blind DSF) that realized power generation, heating and air purification was proposed. In this paper, the PV&TC blinds were designed. Then electrical, thermal and purification performances were comprehensively investigated by experimental and numerical methods. The main results are: (1) The optimal average electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency and formaldehyde single-through conversion were 9.80 %, 56.98 % and 30.89 %, respectively. (2) The established model well fitted experimental data with the maximum RSMD of 7.2 %. (3) The blind angle affected significantly on the thermal and purification performance of the wall, but had relatively small impact on the electrical performance. (4) When the system operated at optimal turning angles, the total reduced heating/cooling loads by the system were 440.6 MJ/m2 and 395.1 MJ/m2, respectively. The annual electricity generation and generated clean air volume were 264542.8 kWh/m2 and 23947.1 m3/m2, respectively.