Journal of Solar Energy Engineering.

Received July 24, 2017;

Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

Research on the Performance of Flat-box PV/T Collector with Cooling Channels

Zhang Heng*
School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering,
North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China, 102206
zhangchongheng@hotmail.com
Liu Haowen*
School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering,

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North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China, 102206

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liu_haowen@hotmail.com
Chen Haiping

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School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering,
North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China, 102206

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hdchenhaiping@163.com
Guo Xinxin

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School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering,
North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China, 102206
694651307@qq.com ot
Liang Kai,
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School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering,
North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China, 102206
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906352487@qq.com
Yao Pengbo
School of Energy, Power and Mechanical Engineering,
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North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China, 102206

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455195587@qq.com
Abstract: Photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector is a novel collector which incorporates photovoltaic power generation and
low temperature heat utilization of solar energy. In this paper, a three-dimensional physical model of flat-box PV/T collector
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is established in the CFD software. The effect of different tube heights, flow rates, inlet temperature, wind speed and ambient
temperature were tested. By analyzing and comparing the simulated and experimental results, the relative errors of the thermal
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efficiency between the simulated and experimental values are smaller than those of the electric efficiency. According to the
experiment, when the water flow is 210L/h, the average outlet temperature is 37.598℃, and the thermal and electric
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efficiencies are 52.524% and 10.064%.

Key words: PV/T collector, cooling channels，experiment analysis，simulated analysis
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1. Introduction
Photovoltaic/thermal(PV/T) Collector was first proposed by Kern and Russell in 1978[1]. The photovoltaic cells can
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convert solar energy into electrical energy. Meanwhile, the waste heat can be recovered by the cooling fluid (e.g., water and
air). In doing so, both electric and thermal energy can be acquired at the same time, thus the overall efficiency would be
improved obviously.
Bjornar Sandnes and John Rekstad made experimental studies on a flat-box solar collector with glass cover-plates.
Thermal efficiency measurements for different collector configurations are compared, and PV performance and temperature
readings are presented and discussed. An analytical model for the PV/T system simulated the temperature development and
the performance of both the thermal and photovoltaic units. The results show that the PV/T system can reduce heat loss from
the collector as the solar cells act as selective absorbers. Heat loss was further reduced by an additional cover glass while at

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

the same time increasing reflective losses [2]. A novel PV/T flat-box collector made of aluminum was proposed by Ji Jie et
al, and the performance of the collector under different water flow and inlet temperature was analyzed. Compared to other
collector, the novel flat-box PV/T collector shows such advantages as quicker startup, more symmetrical temperature
performance and better heat transfer performance. Its electric efficiency is about 10.15%, the thermal efficiency is about 50%,
and the temperature rise can reach more than 20 ℃[3].
In 2009, Cui Wenzhi et al. established a steady three-dimensional model of the concentration PV/T system which had a
flat-plate metallic solar collector with serpentine cooling channels. Meanwhile, the process of the energy conversion and heat
transfer in the collector was conducted by numerical simulation [4]. In the following year, Kostic. Lj. T et al analyzed the
effect of solar concentrator on the performance of a tube-sheet PV/T collector, and the total efficiencies under optimum

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condition were calculated with or without the concentrator [5]. In 2013, Bhattarai et al analyzed and compared the

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performance of PV/T collector and traditional collector with different tankages, and the overall efficiencies and periods of
cost recovery of them were calculated [6]. Liu Xianping et al. simulated the energy conversion performance of a tube-sheet

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PV/T collector by TRNSYS software, and analyzed the effect of the tube distance, ratio of the tube distance to the tube
diameter and the inlet mass flux on the performance [7]. Bingzhi Zhang analyzed a heat-pipe PV/T system with different

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tankages and tilt angles [8]. In 2015, Hu Bian et al. performed a numerical simulation of water cooling PV/T collector with
multiple input multiple output (MIMO) by Fluent software [9]. In 2016, Hasila Jarimi discussed theoretical and indoor

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experimental studies of a bi-fluid-type PV/T collector [10].
Until now, many researchers have done a lot of research on flat plate collectors. However, the outlet temperature of
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collectors cannot meet the user demand. Therefore, it is necessary to use low concentration technique to raise the outlet
temperature.
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Carlo Renno designed a concentration PV/T system and optimized its electric and thermal performance. This CPV/T
system allows to obtain thermal energy at high temperature for the absorption heat pump working and to satisfy the cooling
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load [11]. D. Chemisana designed and analyzed the performance of a building-façade integrated concentrating PV/T system
[12]. Huling Xie et al. designed a new-type eliminating multiple reflections CPC (EMR), and the overall efficiency of the
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CPV/T system can exceed 71% [13]. Guiqiang Li conducted simulation and experimental studies on a PV/T system with
static miniature solar concentrators. . A comparison between the simulation and experiment demonstrated that the model was
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able to obtain the satisfactory simulation outcome to match the experiment outcome. Results showed that the absolute value
of the deviation between simulation and experiment on PV electrical efficiencies were about 0.015 and 0.0065 on March 31st
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and May 13th, and the temperature curves of simulation and experiment were also consistent [14]. Zhang Heng et al. designed
a novel compound parabolic concentrator. Based on the design, a low-concentrating solar photovoltaic thermal (PV / T)
system combines the solar cell module with a solar collector is study. Experimental study and analysis has been made on
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constant temperature operation and constant flow operation of this system according to first law of thermodynamics and
second law of thermodynamics [15-16].
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According to those study, it can be found that there are few articles systematically introducing the effect of external
parameters on the performance of PV/T collector. This paper describes a CPC-PV/T collector. The different parameters (such
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as tube heights, inlet flow, inlet temperature, wind speed and ambient temperature) were simulated by CFD software. And
also the output power, backplane temperature, the inlet, the outlet temperature were tested in this study. The comparisons
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between the theoretical and experimental work were conducted.

Nomenclature
𝐶 concentration ratio 𝑇𝐴𝑙 Aluminum tube temperature (K)
𝛼𝑔 absorptivity of glass 𝑇𝑐 PV cells temperature (K)
𝛼𝑐 absorptivity of silicon 𝑇𝑏 back plate temperature (K)

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

𝛼𝑇 absorptivity of the TPT (Tedlar-PET- 𝑇𝑤 fluid temperature (K)

Tedlar) layer
𝜏𝑔 transmissivity of glass 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑡 outlet temperature (K)
𝜏𝑐 transmissivity of silicon 𝑇𝑖𝑛 inlet temperature (K)
𝐹 packing factor of the PV cells 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1 temperature of upper EVA
(Polyethylene vinylacetate) layer(K)
𝛽 the temperature coefficient of the PV panel 𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 temperature of TPT layer (K)
ℎ0 coefficient of convective heat transfer from 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴2 temperature of lower EVA (K)

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the glass to environment (W/m2·K)

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ℎ𝑤 coefficient of convective heat transfer of 𝑤 width of the rectangular tube (m)
the fluid (W/m2·K)

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ℎ𝑔,𝑎𝑚 coefficient of convection heat transfer x distance from the fluid to the inlet (m)
between the glass plate and environment

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(W/m2·K)
ℎ𝑝,𝑤 convective heat transfer coefficient 𝑑𝑒 characteristic length (m)

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between the channel and coolant (W/m2·K)
𝜂𝑐 the photoelectric transformation efficiency 𝑐𝑤 specific heat capacity of water
of the PV panel (J/kg·K)
𝜂𝑡ℎ Thermal efficiency of the PV/T collector 𝑚𝑤
ot mass flux of water (kg/s)
𝜂𝑒 Electric efficiency of the PV/T collector 𝐴 effective insolation area of the PV/T
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collector (m2)
𝜂𝑇 Primary energy saving efficiency of the Q 𝑙𝑑 solar radiant energy of the collector
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PV/T collector system (W)

𝐼 solar global radiant intensity (W/m2) 𝛿𝑔 thickness of glass plate (m)
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𝛷 solar global radiant flux (W) 𝛿𝑐 thickness of PV cells (m)

𝜆𝑔 thermal conductivity of glass (W/(m·K)) 𝛿𝐸 thickness of EVA (m)
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𝜆𝑐 thermal conductivity of silicon (W/(m·K)) 𝛿𝑇𝑃𝑇 thickness of TPT (m)

𝜆𝐸 thermal conductivity of EVA (W/(m·K)) 𝛿𝐴𝑙 thickness of aluminum (m)
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𝜆 𝑇𝑃𝑇 thermal conductivity of TPT (W/(m·K)) 𝑐𝑝,𝑤 the specific heat capacity of water at
constant pressure J/(kg·K)
𝜆𝐴𝑙 thermal conductivity of aluminum 𝑁𝑢 Nusselt number
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(W/(m·K))
𝜆𝑤 thermal conductivity of water (W/(m·K)) 𝑣0 wind speed (m/s)
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𝑇𝑔 glass plate temperature (K) 𝜌𝑤 the density of water( kg/m3)

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𝑇0 ambient temperature (K)

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

2. Description and theoretical model of PV/T collector with cooling channels

2.1 Description of PV/T collector with cooling channels

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Figure 1. The structure diagram of the PV / T collector and cooling channels

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The PV/T collector in this paper is equipped with cooling channels and CPC concentrator. Figure 1 illustrates the
structure diagram of the PV/T collector and its cooling channels. In Figure 1, the CPC concentrator is installed above the

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PV/T collector to increase the intensity of solar irradiation on photovoltaic cells. Glass cover plates are stuck on the cells to
decrease heat loss and reduce the attritions from sand and wind. What’s more, the inside surface of the PV/T cell is also stuck
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to TPT layer to ensure the insulation of the collector. PV/T collector are integrated with flat-box heat transfer channels by
laminated process, and the collector is wrapped with insulation material all around so as to decrease heat loss to environment.
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Cooling water flows in the channel from the middle inlet, reaches the end, bypasses the baffles and finally flows out
from the side outlets. The channel is a kind of equipment with higher heat exchange efficiency, improved homo-temperature
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and less thermal stress in the flow direction compared to other conventional heat exchange channels. Besides, this channel
was constructed slightly longer than the PV panel, so the temperature difference between inlet and outlet has an insignificant
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effect on the module efficiency.

The dimension parameters of the PV/T collector are shown in Table1. And the parameters of the experimental devices
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are shown in Table 2.

Table 1 Dimension parameters of the PV/T collector with cooling channels
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Parameter name Value Unit

Size of the heat transfer channel 1570*162*9 mm3
Thickness of up and down side of the channel 2 mm
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Thickness of left and right side of the channel 3 mm

Thermal Conductivity of heat transfer channel 200 W/(m·K)
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Thickness of TPT 0.2 mm

Thermal Conductivity of TPT 0.614 W/(m·K)
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Thickness of EVA(3-layers) 0.9 mm

Thermal Conductivity of EVA 0.350 W/(m·K)
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Coverage area of photovoltaic cells 1560*156 mm2

Thickness of photovoltaic cells 0.2 mm
Absorptivity of photovoltaic cells 0.8
Thickness of photovoltaic glass cover-plate 3.2 mm
Transmissivity of photovoltaic glass 0.947
Transmissivity of silicon 0.09
Concentration ratio of CPC 4

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

Concentration efficiency of CPC 0.93

Table 2 The parameters of the devices

Test equipment Measuring range Precision Production site
Total radiometer /
0-2000W/m2 ±1% Netherlands, Kipp&zonen Co.
CMP6
Flowmeter/LZDC- Ningbo, China, Dongchi measurement
30-300L/h ±2.5%
15/J1/F/R1/M5 and control technology Co. Ltd.
Electronic valve
0.04-0.6m3/h ±1% SIEMENS Co.
/SKD62U

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MPPT /Tracer4215BN ±1% Beijing Epsolar Technology Ltd.
IV Curve tester /IVT- 10-1000V
±1% Kewell Power Ltd.
30-1000 0.1-30A

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Data acquisition
module / Advantech (China) Technology Co. Ltd.
±0.1%

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ADAM5000TCP/5017P
/5018P
Thermocouple(TT-T-
-200-260℃ ±0.4%

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30-sle)

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a) Experimental setup of the Flat-box PV/T Collector with Cooling Channels

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b) Control interface of the Flat-box PV/T Collector with Cooling Channels

Figure 2 Structure diagram of the Experimental setup
As shown in Figure 2, the PV/T collector was set up in the roof of a building, Changping, Beijing. The flow is connected
by pipes with good heat insulation. The cooling water flows into the inlet of the system from the left bottom. After passing

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

through these 12 PV/T collectors in S-type, it flows out through the right top. By this way, it not only cools the photovoltaic
cells, but also produces domestic hot water.
2.2 Theoretical model of PV/T collector with cooling channels

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Figure 3 schematic figure for heat transfers between different layers
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Based on the first law of thermodynamics, the energy balance equation for glass plate is as follow,
𝛿𝑔 1 𝜆
𝐶𝛼𝑔 𝐼 = ( + ℎ )−1 (𝑇𝑔 − 𝑇0 ) + 𝛿𝐸 (𝑇𝑔 − 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1 ) (1)
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𝜆𝑔 0 𝐸

Where 𝐶, 𝛼𝑔 , 𝐼, 𝛿𝑔 , 𝜆𝑔 , ℎ0 , 𝑇𝑔 , 𝑇0 , 𝜆𝐸 , 𝛿𝐸 and 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1 are concentration ratio, absorptivity of glass, solar radiation
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intensity, thickness of glass plate, the thermal conductivity of glass, coefficient of convective heat transfer from the glass to
environment, glass plate temperature, ambient temperature, the thermal conductivity of EVA, thickness of EVA and
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temperature of upper EVA layer, respectively.

The coefficient of convective heat transfer from the glass to environment is taken as follow,
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ℎ0 = 5.7 + 3.8𝑣0 (2)

Where 𝑣0 is the wind speed.
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The energy balance equation for the upper EVA layer is as follow,
𝜆 𝜆
𝛼 𝑇 𝜏𝑐 𝜏𝑔 𝐹𝐼𝐶 + 𝛿𝐸 (𝑇𝑔 − 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1 ) + 𝛼 𝑇 𝜏𝑔 (1 − 𝐹)𝐼𝐶 = 𝑐 (𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1 − 𝑇𝑐 ) (3)
𝐸 𝛿 𝑐
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Where 𝛼 𝑇 , 𝛼𝑐 , 𝜏𝑔 , 𝐹, 𝜆𝐸 , 𝛿𝐸 , 𝜆𝑐 , 𝛿𝑐 and 𝑇𝑐 are absorptivity of TPT, absorptivity of silicon, transmissivity of glass,

packing factor of the PV cells, the thermal conductivity of EVA, thickness of EVA,
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thermal conductivity of silicon, thickness of silicon and temperature of PV cells, respectively.

The energy balance equation for PV cells is as follow,
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𝜆 𝜆
𝛼𝑐 𝜏𝑔 𝐹𝐼𝐶 + 𝛿𝑐 (𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1 − 𝑇𝑐 ) = 𝛿𝐸 (𝑇𝑐 − 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴2 ) + 𝜂𝑐 𝛼𝑐 𝜏𝑔 𝐹𝐼𝐶 (4)
𝑐 𝐸
Ac

Where 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴2 is the temperature of lower EVA layer. And 𝜂𝑐 is photoelectric efficiency of PV cells. Usually, the photoelectric
transformation efficiency of the PV panel is calculated through an empirical formula as follows:

𝜂𝑐 = 𝜂𝑟 [1 − 𝛽(𝑇𝑐 − 298)] (5)

Where 𝜂𝑟 is the standard photoelectric transformation efficiency; 𝛽 stands for the temperature coefficient of the PV panel,
which is usually at a range of 0.004 to 0.006.
The energy balance equation for the lower EVA layer is as follow,

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Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

𝜆𝐸 𝜆
(𝑇𝑐 − 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴2 ) = 𝛿𝑇𝑃𝑇 (𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴2 − 𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 ) (6)
𝛿𝐸 𝑇𝑃𝑇

Where 𝜆 𝑇𝑃𝑇 , 𝛿𝑇𝑃𝑇 and 𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 are the thermal conductivity of TPT, thickness of TPT and temperature of TPT layer,
respectively.
The energy balance equation for the TPT layer is as follow,
𝜆𝑇𝑃𝑇 𝜆
(𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴2 − 𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 ) = 𝛿𝐴𝑙 (𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴𝑙 ) (7)
𝛿𝑇𝑃𝑇 𝐴𝑙

Where 𝜆𝐴𝑙 , 𝛿𝐴𝑙 , and 𝑇𝐴𝑙 are the thermal conductivity of aluminum, thickness of aluminum and temperature of aluminum
tube, respectively.

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The energy balance equation for the aluminum tube is as follow,

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𝜆𝐴𝑙 𝛿𝐴𝑙 1 −1
(𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴𝑙 ) = ( +ℎ ) (𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 − 𝑇𝑤 ) (8)
𝛿𝐴𝑙 𝜆𝐴𝑙 𝑤

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Where ℎ𝑤 and 𝑇𝑤 are coefficient of convective heat transfer of the fluid and fluid temperature.
The coefficient of convective heat transfer of the fluid is taken as follow,

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𝜆𝑤 𝑁𝑢
ℎ𝑤 = 𝑑𝑒
(9)

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Where 𝜆𝑤 , 𝑁𝑢 and 𝑑𝑒 are the thermal conductivity of water, Nusselt number and characteristic length, respectively.
The energy balance equation for the fluid in the aluminum rectangular tube is as follow,
𝛿
(𝜆𝐴𝑙 + ℎ )
1 −1 ot
(𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 − 𝑇𝑤 ) ∙ 𝑤 ∙ 𝑑𝑥 = 𝑐𝑤 𝑚𝑤
𝑑𝑇𝑤
𝑑𝑥
𝑑𝑥 (10)
𝐴𝑙 𝑤
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Where 𝑐𝑤 is specific heat capacity of water, 𝑤 is the width of the aluminum rectangular tube and 𝑚𝑤 is mass flux of
water.
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The water temperature at different locations in the rectangular tube is taken as follow,
𝛿 1 −1
−( 𝐴𝑙 + ) 𝑤𝑥
𝜆𝐴𝑙 ℎ𝑤
𝑇𝑤 (𝑥) = (𝑇𝑖𝑛 − 𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 )𝑒 𝑐𝑤 𝑚𝑤 + 𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇 (11)
sc

Where 𝑇𝑖𝑛 is inlet temperature, and 𝑥 is distance from the fluid to the inlet.
nu

2.3 Performance evaluation index

Thermal efficiency of the PV/T collector can be expressed as:
Ma

𝑄 𝑞𝑓 𝑐𝑓 (𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑡 −𝑇𝑖𝑛 )
𝜂𝑡ℎ = 𝐼𝐴 = (12)
𝐼𝐴

Where 𝑄, 𝐴 and 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑡 are effective heat absorption of the PV/T collector, effective insolation area of the PV/T collector and
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outlet temperature, respectively.

Electric efficiency of the PV/T collector can be expressed as:
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𝐸𝑐 ∑12
𝑖=1 𝜂0 [1 − 0.004(𝑡𝑖 − 298.15)]
𝜂𝑒 = =
𝐼𝐴 12
ce

(13)
Where 𝐸𝑐 , 𝜂0 and 𝑡𝑖 are output power of the PV cells, photovoltaic conversion efficiency under standard conditions
Ac

(T=298.15K, solar radiant intensity I=1000W/m2) and PV cell temperature, respectively.

Primary energy saving efficiency of the PV/T collector can be expressed as [17]:
𝜂 𝑇 = 𝜂𝑡ℎ + 𝜂𝑒 /𝜂𝑝
(14)
Where 𝜂𝑝 =0.38.
3. Numerical Model
3.1 Governing equation
The governing equations for the PV/T collector are as following.

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Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

Taken the glass plate as inner heat source, there are convective heat transfer from glass plate to the environment and
thermal conduction between the glass plate and the upper EVA layer. The governing equation is written as,
𝜕 2 𝑇𝑔 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑔 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑔 𝛷
𝜆𝑔 𝜕𝑥 2
+ 𝜆𝑔 𝜕𝑦 2
+ 𝜆𝑔 𝜕𝑧 2
+ 𝛼𝑔 𝛿 = 0 (15)
𝑔

The corresponding boundary condition is

While y=0.0135
𝑑𝑇𝑔
−𝜆𝑔 𝑑𝑦
= ℎ𝑔,𝑎𝑚 (𝑇𝑔,𝑢𝑝 − 𝑇𝑎𝑚 ) (16)

While y=0.0103

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𝑇𝑔,𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 = 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴,𝑢𝑝 (17)

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Where 𝜆𝑔 is the thermal conductivity of glass, W/(m·K); 𝛼𝑔 is the absorptivity of glass; 𝛷 is solar radiation flux, W ;
𝛿𝑔 is thickness of glass plate, m. ℎ𝑔,𝑎𝑚 is the coefficient of convection heat transfer between the glass plate and environment,

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W/(m·K). It can be defined by the Watmuff formulation.
ℎ𝑔,𝑎𝑚 = 3𝑢𝑎𝑚 + 2.8 (18)

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The governing equation of upper EVA layer is written as,
𝜕 2 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1 𝜕 2 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1 𝜕 2 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1

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𝜕𝑥 2
+ 𝜕𝑦 2
+ 𝜕𝑧 2
=0 (19)

The boundary condition is

While y=0.0103 ot
𝑇𝑔,𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 = 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴,𝑢𝑝 (20)
tN
While y=0.0100
𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1,𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 = 𝑇𝑐,𝑢𝑝 (21)
rip

It is assumed that a part of energy received by photovoltaic cells is converted to electric energy, and the rest is converted
to thermal energy. Taken the PV cells as inner heat source, the governing equation of PV cells is written as,
sc

𝜕 2 𝑇𝑐 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑐 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑐 𝛷
𝜆𝑐 + 𝜆𝑐 + 𝜆𝑐 + 𝛿 𝜏𝑔 (1 − 𝜂𝑐 ) = 0 (22)
𝜕𝑥 2 𝜕𝑦 2 𝜕𝑧 2 𝑐
nu

Where 𝜆𝑐 is thermal conductivity of silicon, W/(m·K); 𝛿𝑐 is thickness of PV cells, m;𝜏𝑔 is transmissivity of glass; 𝜂𝑐
is photoelectric efficiency of PV cells.
Ma

The boundary condition is

While y=0.0100
𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴1,𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 = 𝑇𝑐,𝑢𝑝 (23)
ed

While y=0.0098
𝑇𝑐,𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 = 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴2,𝑢𝑝 (24)
pt

While y=0.0095
𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴2,𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 = 𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇,𝑢𝑝 (25)
ce

While y=0.0093
𝑇𝑇𝑃𝑇,𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 = 𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴3,𝑢𝑝 (26)
Ac

While y=0.0090
𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴3,𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 = 𝑇𝑝,𝑢𝑝 (27)
The governing equation of flat-box cooling channel is written as,
𝜕 2 𝑇𝑝 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑝 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑝
𝜕𝑥 2
+ 𝜕𝑦 2
+ 𝜕𝑧 2
=0 (28)

The boundary condition is

While y=0.0090
𝑇𝐸𝑉𝐴3,𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 = 𝑇𝑝,𝑢𝑝 (29)

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

While y=0.0070
𝑑𝑇𝑝
𝜆𝑝 𝑑𝑦
= ℎ𝑐,𝑤 (𝑇𝑤 − 𝑇𝑝 ) (30)

The governing equation of coolant is written as,

1
(𝑢 ⃗ 𝑤 = 𝑓 − 𝜌 ∇𝜌𝑤 + 𝑣𝑤 ∇2 𝑢
⃗ 𝑤 · ∇)𝑢 ⃗𝑤 (31)
𝑤

𝜕𝑢𝑤 𝜕𝑣𝑤 𝜕𝑤𝑤

𝜕𝑥
+ 𝜕𝑦
+ 𝜕𝑧
=0 (32)

𝜕2𝑇 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑤 𝜕 2 𝑇𝑤

d
𝜕𝑇𝑤 𝜕𝑇𝑤 𝜕𝑇𝑤 𝜆𝑤
𝑢𝑤 𝜕𝑥
+ 𝑣𝑤 𝜕𝑦
+ 𝑤𝑤 𝜕𝑧
=𝜌 ( 𝜕𝑥 2𝑤 + 𝜕𝑦 2
+ 𝜕𝑧 2
) (33)
𝑤 𝑐𝑝,𝑤

ite
The boundary condition is
y=0.0040

ed
𝜕𝑇𝑝
−𝜆𝑝 𝜕𝑦
= ℎ𝑝,𝑤 (𝑇𝑝 − 𝑇𝑤 ) (34)

py
Where 𝜆𝑤 is thermal conductivity of water, W/(m·K); 𝜌𝑤 is the density of water, kg/m3; 𝑐𝑝,𝑤 is the specific heat
capacity of water at constant pressure, J/(kg·K); ℎ𝑝,𝑤 is the convective heat transfer coefficient between the channel and

Co
coolant, W/(m2·K).
3.2 Assumption and Meshing
ot
The collector model is set to level. The solar energy absorbed by the PV/T collectors is converted into electrical and
thermal energy completely. To simplify the modeling and calculation process, the following assumptions were made: The
tN
solar panel is assumed as a uniform internal heat source whose calorific value varies with the temperature by User-Defined
Function. The heat losses on the both sides and the bottom of the collectors are ignored. The effect of gravity is ignored. The
rip

Reynolds number can be obtained as follow equation:

𝜌𝑉𝐷𝑒 𝑉𝐷𝑒
𝑅𝑒𝑓 = =
𝜇 𝑣
sc

4ℎ𝑏
𝐷𝑒 =
nu

2(ℎ + 𝑏)
And the Reynolds number is near 730. Therefore, the heat-transfer medium (water) is assumed to work in laminar flow
Ma

in the tubes and in a convective way with the wall.

The gambit model of the PV/T collectors is illustrated in figure 4.
ed
pt
ce
Ac

Figure 4 Gambit model of the PV/T collectors Figure 5 Gird independence analysis

After building the PV/T module model, the gambit model is meshed. The mesh quality, mesh number, and mesh type are
important for the simulation. Figure 5 is the result of grid independence analysis when the inlet flow is 100L/h. According to

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

the result of mesh independence test, the three-dimensional model was meshed by hexahedral mesh, and the number of the
meshes is about 1.7 million. And the validation of this numerical model have been done in the previous study [15].
4. Simulation analysis
By CFD software, the effects of different tube heights, inlet flow, inlet temperature, wind speed and ambient temperature
on the efficiency were simulated.
4.1 Effect of the tube height on the heat-transfer performance
Under the same flow rate, setting the tube heights as 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm and 7mm respectively in one PV/T collector,
the results are shown in Figure 6:

d
ite
ed
py
Co
ot
Figure 6 The variation on temperature of upper surface and outlet water with tube heights
tN
Figure 6 shows the variation on temperature of upper surface and outlet water with different tube heights. Obviously,
under the same flow rate, the upper surface temperature rises with the increase of tube heights but the temperature of the outlet
rip

water is on the contrary. While the flow rates are different, the trends of the upper surface and outlet water temperature are
basically the same. Take the flow rate of 100L/h as an example, when the tube height increases from 3 mm to 7 mm, the upper
sc

surface temperature rises from 298.291K to 298.846K, up by 0.555K, while the temperature of the outlet water decreases
from 299.632K to 299.524K, down by 0.108K. As for the heat transfer process between the water and wall of tube, the flow
nu

rate accordingly goes down along with the increase of the tube heights. However, in terms of the three-dimensional quasi-
steady convective heat transfer process, flow rate increased can strengthen the disturbance and enhance the heat transfer
Ma

between water and wall of tube. Therefore, with the same flow rate, the lower tube height is, the better performance is. Since
the total heat transfer amount is basically constant, the temperature changes in the fluid are also relatively close. Although
smaller tube heights can produce better performance, the effect is limited. What’s more, it makes connectivity with larger
ed

pipes more difficult and creates flow losses. In conclude, the most appropriate height is 5mm.
4.2 Effect of inlet flow on thermal/electric efficiency
pt
ce
Ac

Figure 7 Temperature of outlet water and cells with varying inlet flow

10

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

Figure 7 illustrates the variation on the temperature of outlet water and cells with inlet flow, when the inlet temperature,
wind speed and ambient temperature are 293K, 1m/s and 293K, respectively, and irradiation intensity is 3200 W/m2(the
realistic irradiation intensity is 800 W/m2 using four-time condenser). As shown in Figure 7, the average temperatures of the
outlet water and photovoltaic cells decrease with the increasing inlet flow. Besides, the cell closest to the outlet has the largest
temperature drop range. When the inlet flow rises from 70L/h to 560L/h, the temperature of 1#cell drops from 299.33K to
295.84K, down by 3.49K, and the temperature of 10#cell drops from 348.49K to 302.93K, down by 45.56K. Due to the
smaller inlet flow and lower flow rate, the water stays longer in the tube during which enough heat transfer is completed. In
the later process, the temperature of the water is relatively higher and it can take away the heat produced by the photovoltaic
cells, thus controlling the rise of temperature. According to the figure above, when the flow rate is below 280L/h, the

d
temperature of the outlet water and cells decreases by an obvious trend as it grows; when above 280L/h, this trend is gradually

ite
leveling off. Therefore, when the flow rate is 280L/h or less, the cells can be cooled easier.

ed
py
Co
ot
tN
rip

Figure 8 Thermal, electrical and primary energy saving efficiencies of collectors with varying inlet flow
Figure 8 displays the variation of the thermal, electric and primary energy saving efficiencies of the collectors with
sc

varying inlet flow. It shows that the thermal, electric and primary energy saving efficiencies of the collectors vary directly as
the inlet water grow and the growth initially increases then decreases. As shown in the figure, when the inlet flow is lower
nu

than 280L/h, there is a distinct increase of the efficiencies as the flow increases. On the country, when the inlet flow is higher
than 280L/h, there is a slow increase of the efficiencies as the flow increases. The disturbances between the water and wall
Ma

are stronger with the growing inlet flow, thus the convective heat transfer coefficient moves up. While the inlet flow lower
than 280L/h, the growing trend of the coefficient is significant, so as the amount of transferred heat. While the inlet flow
higher than 280L/h, the growing trend of the coefficient slows down.
ed

In terms of the PV/T solar system, the thermal and electric efficiencies of the PV/T collector as well as the temperature
of the outlet water are important indicators for its overall performance. However, the changing trends of these three indicators
pt

are not synchronous with the growing flow, which means more pump power consumption. Therefore, under certain conditions,
there exists the most desirable inlet flow. It is apparent from the Figure 7 and 8 that with the inlet flow being 210L/h, the
ce

thermal and electric efficiencies are 56.38% and 12.02%, respectively, and the temperature of the outlet water is 42.8℃, which
meets the domestic water demand.
Ac

11

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

4.3 Effect of the inlet temperature on thermal/electric efficiency

d
ite
ed
Figure 9 Temperature of outlet water and cells with varying inlet temperatures
Figure 9 shows the variation on the outlet water, cells temperature and inlet-outlet temperature difference with varying

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inlet temperature when the inlet flow being 210L/h, wind speed 1m/s, ambient temperature 293K and irradiation intensity
3200 W/m2. As shown in Figure 9, along with the increasing temperature of the inlet water, the temperature of the outlet water

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and cells has linear increase trend while the inlet-outlet temperature difference decreases. When the inlet temperature grows
from 288K to 298K, 1# cell’s temperature rises from 292.05K to 301.98K, up by 9.93K and 10# cell’s temperature increases
ot
from 309.57K to 319.23K, up by 9.66K; the outlet temperature goes from 311.09K to 320.72K, up by 9.63K; the inlet-outlet
temperature difference decreases from 22.94K to 22.57K. These statistics show that the effect of inlet temperature on the cell
tN
is smaller than that on the outlet water; the heat exchange (the amount of exchanged heat) increase by lowering the temperature
of the inlet water but the effect is limited.
rip

Figure 10 displays the variation on the thermal, electric and primary energy saving efficiencies of the collectors with the
inlet temperature. It is can be seen that as the inlet temperature increasing, the thermal and electric efficiencies have linear
sc

decrease trend. When the inlet temperature is 288K, the thermal and electrical efficiencies of the collector are 56.83% and
12.27%, respectively. When the inlet temperature moves up to 298K, the thermal and electric efficiencies decrease to 55.89%
nu

and 11.78%, respectively down by 1.63% and 3.99%. The statistics shows that the increase of the inlet temperature has more
effect on the electric efficiency than that on the thermal efficiency.
Ma
ed
pt
ce
Ac

Figure 10 Thermal, electric and primary energy saving efficiencies of collectors with varying inlet temperature
It is clear that in Figure 9 and 10, the decrease of the inlet temperature can effectively decrease the temperature of the
cell, thereby increasing the thermal/electric efficiencies of the PV/T collectors. However, lowering the inlet water requires
extra energy consumption, and making the outlet water not meet domestic water demand. In the end, proper inlet temperature
should be chosen to attain both higher thermal/electric efficiencies and appropriate outlet temperature. Under simulated
working conditions, when the inlet temperature is the same as ambient temperature, namely 293K, the thermal efficiency of

12

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

the collectors reaches 56.38%, electrical efficiency 12.02%, the temperature of the outlet water 42.77℃, which are in line
with the requirements.
4.4 Effect of wind speed on thermal/electric efficiency

d
ite
ed
py
Figure 11 Temperature of outlet water and cells with varying wind speed
Figure 11 shows the variation on the temperature of the outlet water and cells with varying wind speed when the inlet

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temperature being 293K, inlet flow 210L/h, ambient temperature 293K and irradiation intensity 3200 W/m2. It is can be found
that the temperature of the outlet water and cells which closed to the outlet has an evident fall as the wind speed increases,
ot
while the fall trend of the cells nearby the inlet is less evident. In light of the temperature of the outlet water and cells which
closed to the outlet, when wind speed is lower than 5m/s, there is a larger decrease margin as wind speed grows. But when it
tN
is higher than 5m/s, the effect is gradually feeble. This is because the increase of wind speed exerts large influence on the
convective heat transfer coefficient between the cell’s surface and environment when the wind speed is lower than 5m/s. The
rip

temperature of the cells nearby the inlet is close to ambient temperature and less vulnerable to the convective coefficient.
Therefore, theirs temperature decline margin is relatively small.
sc

The variation on the thermal, electrical and primary energy saving efficiencies with different wind speed is shown in
Figure 12. With wind speed growing，the thermal and primary energy saving efficiencies are declining, while the electric
nu

efficiency is increasing. And these trends are especially notable when wind speed is less than 5m/s. As wind speed goes up
from 1m/s to 11m/s, the thermal efficiency goes down to 54.43% from 56.38% while electric efficiency up to 12.04% from
Ma

12.02%. Obviously, its effect on the former is far more than the latter.
According to Figure 11 and 12, the growth of wind speed will produce lower temperature of the outlet water and cells.
It significantly decreases thermal efficiency, but its effect on the electric efficiency is so little that the primary energy saving
ed

efficiency of the collectors is also decreased. Thereby, the growth of wind speed is unfavorable to the efficiency of the PV/T
collectors. Wind protection measures need to be taken on the premise of cost control.
pt
ce
Ac

Figure 12 Thermal, electric and primary energy saving efficiencies with varying wind speeds

13

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

4.5 Effect of ambient temperature on thermal/electric efficiency

Figure 13 describes the variation on the temperature of the outlet water and cells with ambient temperature, under the
condition where the inlet temperature, inlet flow, and wind speed and irradiation intensity are 293K, 210L/h, 1m/s and
3200W/m2, respectively. As shown in Figure 13, as ambient temperature increasing, the temperatures of the outlet water and
cells have linear increasing trends. Moreover, the closer to the outlet, the more obvious temperature increasing trend is. With
the ambient temperature up from 288K to 303K, the temperature of 1# cell increases by 0.15K and that of 10#cell up by
0.71K.

d
ite
ed
py
Co
Figure 13 Temperature of outlet water and cells with ot
Figure 14 Thermal, electrical and primary energy
varying ambient temperatures saving efficiencies with varying ambient temperature
tN
Figure 14 shows the variation on thermal, electrical and primary energy saving efficiencies with different ambient
temperatures. As can be seen from Figure 14, the thermal efficiency grows as ambient temperature increases, while the electric
rip

efficiency is on the contrary. The uptrend of the thermal efficiency is faster than the downtrend of the electrical efficiency.
When ambient temperature increases from 288K to 303K, the thermal efficiency is up by 1.87% while the electric efficiency
sc

is down by 0.02%. The reason of which is that as ambient temperature increases, the temperature differences between the
cells and ambient lower down, thus the heat convection between them is weakened and the heat losses of the collectors are
nu

reduced. Therefore, low ambient temperature is an essential factor impacting the primary energy saving efficiency of the PV/T
collectors. How to improve the thermal/electric efficiency in low temperature is a crucial issue to be resolved in the future.
Ma

5. Comparison between the experimental result and simulated result

The experimental tests were carried out on April 11th 2016 under basically stable solar radiation intensity and other
environmental parameters. And the test data for different inlet flow were obtained. By taking the average environmental
ed

parameters as initial condition, the simulated calculation was also conducted by Fluent. to obtain comparative results of the
simulation and experiments.
pt

Figure 15 shows the comparison between the simulated and experimental results of the cell’s temperature with inlet flow
being 210L/h and 140L/h. When the inlet flow is 210L/h, the average irradiation intensity, average temperature of the inlet
ce

water, average ambient temperature and wind speed are 799.9542 W/m2, 17.69℃, 25.65℃ and 0.74m/s, respectively in
experiments; when the inlet flow is 140L/h, the average irradiation intensity, average temperature of the inlet water, average
Ac

ambient temperature and wind speed are 805.8698W/m2，.39℃, 25.65℃ and 0.57m/s, respectively in experiments. It can be
seen from the figure that compared with simulated values, the distribution of the experimental results is relatively not regular
or linear. However, the experimental curves are in line with the simulated ones, and the curve under140L/h flow is closer to
the simulated one than that under 210L/h flow. Besides, the experimental values are generally lower than the simulate ones.
Table 3 illustrates the values of the outlet temperature, thermal and electric efficiency when the inlet flow is 210L/h and
140L/h. Figure 16 shows the variation on the simulated and experimental values of the thermal/electric efficiency in
accordance with the changes of the flow. As it can be seen from Table 3 and Figure 16, the simulated and experimental values
of the thermal/electric efficiency are basically consistent. Under the same flow rate, all the simulated outlet temperature, the

14

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

thermal and electric efficiencies are higher than the experimental ones. As the flow rate decreases, the thermal and electric
efficiency moves down while the outlet temperature moves up significantly. Meanwhile, the relative errors of the outlet
temperature and thermal efficiency between simulated and experimental values are smaller and those of the electric efficiency
are larger. This is because direct-current tubes lead to unbalanced heat distribution in the longitudinal direction. Therefore,
the temperature differences between the inlet and outlet are relatively larger. What’s more, due to the complexity of the tube
coupling and fluid flow in actual heat transfer process, there are flowing dead zones in tubes, causing overheat in parts of the
cells, which greatly decreases the photoelectric conversion efficiency. Therefore, the tube arrangements and pipe connections
should be optimized to achieve better cooling effect and the appropriate inlet flow should be selected in accordance with
customer demand.

d
ite
ed
py
Co
ot
tN
Figure 15 Comparison of cells’ temperature under Figure 16 Comparison of thermal/electrical efficiency
different inlet flows under different inlet flows
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Table 3 Comparison of outlet temperature and thermal/electric efficiency under different flows
Q=210L/h Simulation values Experimental values Relative error (%)
sc

The outlet temperature (℃) 39.97979 37.59823 5.956914

Thermal efficiency (%) 56.64942 52.52426 7.28191
nu

Electric efficiency (%) 12.16892 10.06431 17.29496

Q=140L/h
Ma

The outlet temperature (℃) 53.69885 50.49973 5.957521

Thermal efficiency (%) 56.37757 51.43215 8.771964
Electric efficiency (%) 11.74081 9.10598 22.44164
ed

By analyzing and comparing the simulated and experimental results, the relative errors of the thermal efficiency between
the simulated and experimental values are smaller than those of the electric efficiency. The influence of temperature
pt

distribution on the system electric efficiency is much greater than that on the thermal efficiency.
6. Conclusion
ce

In this paper, a three-dimensional physical model of flat-box CPC-PV/T collector with cooling channel was built by
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Fluent. And the effect of the tube height, inlet flow, inlet temperature, wind speed and ambient temperature on the
thermal/electric performance of the collectors was analyzed. Besides, the simulated and experimental results are compared to
validate its rationality. In accordance with above analysis, the conclusions can be drawn as follows:
1) With certain flow, lower tube heights can strengthen the heat conversion between the water and wall but the effect is
limited. What’s more, lower tube heights make the tube connections more difficult and increase flow losses. Therefore, the
most appropriate value for the tube height is 5mm.

15

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

2) With the flow rate increasing, PV cell’s temperature is reduced, thus the thermal and electrical efficiencies are
improved, but the outlet temperature is lower. When the flow rate increases to a certain extent, its effect on the thermal/electric
efficiency is limited.
3) The decreased inlet temperature improves the thermal/electric efficiency of the PV/T collectors and the cooling effect
on the cells, but if the inlet temperature is too low, the outlet temperature fails to meet the requirements of domestic water.
4) Both higher wind speed and lower ambient temperature decrease the temperature of the outlet water and cells, and
significantly reduce the thermal efficiency of the PV/T collectors, but hardly affect the electric efficiency.
5) The experimental results show that the distribution of the cells’ temperature from the inlet to outlet is not linear.
Besides, the overall experimental distribution curves are in line with the simulated ones. Both the experimental and simulated

d
values of the thermal/electric efficiency increase along with the growing flow rate. And the relative errors of the thermal

ite
efficiency between the simulated and experimental values are smaller than those of the electric efficiency. According to the
experiment, when the water flow is 210L/h, the average outlet temperature is 37.598℃, and the thermal and electric

ed
efficiencies are 52.524% and 10.064%, respectively.
Acknowledgments

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This work was financially supported by Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Project(Z151100003515002), the
National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program)(2013AA050402), the Fundamental

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Research Funds for the Central Universities(2016XS36）.
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ot
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tN
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sc

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nu

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Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Received July 24, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted December 4, 2017. doi:10.1115/1.4038621
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

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