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Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996

www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems simulation

with Simulink/Matlab
R.M. da Silva ⇑, J.L.M. Fernandes
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal

Received 14 December 2009; received in revised form 3 September 2010; accepted 4 October 2010
Available online 1 November 2010

Communicated by: Associate Editor Arturo Morales-Acevedo

Abstract

The purpose of this work consists in thermodynamic modeling of hybrid photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) solar systems, pursuing a mod-
ular strategy approach provided by Simulink/Matlab.
PV/T solar systems are a recently emerging solar technology that allows for the simultaneous conversion of solar energy into both
electricity and heat. This type of technology present some interesting advantages over the conventional “side-by-side” thermal and
PV solar systems, such as higher combined electrical/thermal energy outputs per unit area, and a more uniform and aesthetical pleasant
roof area. Despite the fact that early research on PV/T systems can be traced back to the seventies, only recently it has gained a renewed
impetus. In this work, parametric studies and annual transient simulations of PV/T systems are undertaken in Simulink/Matlab. The
obtained results show an average annual solar fraction of 67%, and a global overall efficiency of 24% (i.e. 15% thermal and 9% electrical),
for a typical four-person single-familiar residency in Lisbon, with p-Si cells, and a collector area of 6 m2. A sensitivity analysis performed
on the PV/T collector suggests that the most important variable that should be addressed to improve thermal performance is the pho-
tovoltaic (PV) module emittance. Based on those results, some additional improvements are proposed, such as the use of vacuum, or a
noble gas at low-pressure, to allow for the removal of PV cells encapsulation without air oxidation and degradation, and thus reducing
the PV module emittance. Preliminary results show that this option allows for an 8% increase on optical thermal efficiency, and a sub-
stantial reduction of thermal losses, suggesting the possibility of working at higher fluid temperatures. The higher working temperatures
negative effect in electrical efficiency was negligible, due to compensation by improved optical properties. The simulation results are com-
pared with experimental data obtained from other authors and perform reasonably well.
The Simulink modeling platform has been mainly used worldwide on simulation of control systems, digital signal processing and elec-
tric circuits, but there are very few examples of application to solar energy systems modeling. This work uses the modular environment of
Simulink/Matlab to model individual PV/T system components, and to assemble the entire installation layout. The results show that the
modular approach strategy provided by Matlab/Simulink environment is applicable to solar systems modeling, providing good code sca-
lability, faster developing time, and simpler integration with external computational tools, when compared with traditional imperative-
oriented programming languages.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Hybrid solar collector; Photovoltaic/thermal; Transient simulations; Simulink; Matlab

1. Introduction the combination of both photovoltaic and thermal technol-

Hybrid PV/T collectors are devices that simultaneous
convert solar radiation into electricity and heat through
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +351 966341445.
E-mail address: rickmps@hotmail.com (R.M. da Silva).
ogy. They typically consist on a thermal absorber attached
to the back of a photovoltaic (PV) module as shown in
Fig. 1. The PV module converts part of the incident solar
radiation into electricity, and the remaining fraction is con-
ducted through a thermal absorber to a circulating fluid for
use in thermal applications (e.g., hot water, space heating),

0038-092X/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.solener.2010.10.004
1986 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996
Nomenclature
PV/T collector model
A collector area, m2
Cpi specific heat of collector components, J kg1 K1
G solar irradiance, W m2
mi mass of collector components, kg
T1 temperature of glass cover, K
T2 temperature of PV module, K
T3 temperature of absorber fin, K
T4 temperature of absorber fin connection to tube,
K W m2 K1
T5 average temperature of circulating water, K
Tsky temperature of the sky, K
Tfin fluid inlet temperature, K
Tfout fluid outlet temperature, K
a photovoltaic module absorptance
qd reflectance associated with diffuse radiation
gcel photovoltaic cells efficiency
ge electric efficiency
s glass cover transmittance
sa transmittance–absorptance product
Tank model
At tank internal cross-sectional area, m2
Am mantle internal cross-sectional area, m2
Charalambous et al. (2006). The motivation force behind
the development of this solar technology is the fact that
current state-of-the-art photovoltaic technology has a
major inherent drawback on its inability to absorb solar
energy within the full radiation spectrum range. This fact
causes PV solar cells to obtain relatively low efficiencies,
since the most part of the incident energy is rejected to
the surrounding environment in the form of heat. Hybrid
solar collectors harvest this otherwise rejected heat, and
thus increase the combined thermal and electrical power
yield. Though early research articles on PV/T systems
can be dated back to the seventies, Kern et al. (1978) and
Florschuetz (1979), they have gained a renewed interest
recently and, with substantial initiatives taken in order to
reduce their cost, it is expected that they become increas-
ingly attractive in the future.
In the present work, the integrated Simulink/Matlab
environment is employed to thermodynamically model a
hybrid solar plant layout, pursuing a modular-block mod-
eling strategy. Simulink is a platform initially created for
multidomain simulation and model-based design of
dynamic systems, Mathworks (2009). This fact allows for
a great flexibility on the range of applicable possibilities
to model. Nevertheless it has been used mainly in simulat-
ing control systems, digital signal processing, and electric
circuits, and there are very few available examples of tran-
sient thermodynamic modeling of solar systems, or even
fluid network analysis. In the present study the individual
system components are modeled through Simulink
Cp water specific heat, J kg1 K1
K water thermal conductivity, W m1 K1
Tt water temperature in the tank, K
Tm water temperature in the mantle, K
Tamb ambient temperature, K
u tank water vertical velocity, m s1
um mantle water vertical velocity, m s1
P tank perimeter, m
Uint internal overall heat transfer coefficient,
Uext external overall heat transfer coefficient,
W m2 K1
q water specific mass, kg m3
qTin water specific mass at inlet, kg m3
meff effective inlet velocity, m s1
reff effective inlet radius, m
hmax inlet turbulent zone maximum height, m
Abbreviations
PV/T photovoltaic/thermal
m-Si monocrystalline cells
p-Si polycrystalline cells
a-Si amorphous cells
S-functions, which allow for time integration of the non-lin-
ear time-dependent resulting differential equations system.
Other modeling approaches could be pursued as well. It
has been argued that higher level modeling approaches
based, for instance, on the use of the object-oriented and
acausal modeling language Modelica, or on the use of the
standard object-oriented and acausal modeling framework
Ecosim-Pro could be viable and better alternatives. How-
ever, object-oriented programming and acausal modeling
are already supported in current versions of Matlab/Simu-
link environment via the Simscape language. This option
avoids the so-called algebraic loop problem, it allows a
more natural physical modeling and building libraries with
reusable component models and systems. Also, all Matlab
available toolboxes can be used whenever necessary. Of
particular interest is the parallel computing toolbox which
allows multicore and multiprocessor computer capabilities
to be fully exploited.
In Section 2 mathematical models for the diverse indi-
vidual primary components are presented. These include
the PV/T collector model, the hot water thermal storage
stratified tank model, and the solar radiation input model.
In Section 3 the system layout model on Simulink is pre-
sented. In Section 4 simulations and parametric studies
are conducted on individual components to identify which
key-features play the most relevant role in thermal perfor-
mance. Detailed parametric and sensitivity studies are con-
ducted in the PV/T collector to assess the possibility for
additional improvements in the collector efficiency by the
 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996 1987

Fig. 1. Typical sheet-and-tube PV/T collector.

use of vacuum and removal of the PV glass encapsulation. lector properties that are associated with each of the indi-
In this section the individual components simulation results vidual solar radiation components, and their dependence
obtained in Matlab/Simulink are compared with experi- on the radiation incidence angle.
mental data obtained from other authors. In Section 5 The combined transmittance–absorptance (sa) of the
the annual simulation overall results for a PV/T solar glass cover and absorber system is obtained from
entire system performance on a temperate region country sa
(Portugal), and on an equatorial country (Cabo-Verde), ðsaÞ ¼ ð1Þ
1  ð1  aÞqd
are presented and compared.
where qd represents the internal diffuse radiation reflection
2. Individual component models coefficient.

2.1. PV/T collector 2.1.2.2. Energetic model. In the energetic model, according
to Zondag et al. (2005), one-dimensional models provide a
2.1.1. PV/T collector designs satisfactory degree of precision, when compared with more
The PV/T collector is the solar plant component respon- complex models. Following this premises, a uni-dimen-
sible for capturing solar radiation and converting it into sional transient model was developed by imposing conser-
electricity and heat. A typical hybrid PV/T collector con- vation of energy in each of the individual collector
sists in a PV module attached to a thermal absorber (see components. This results in a set of non-linear transient
Fig. 1). The purpose of the absorber is to cool down the first order differential equations. The locations of tempera-
panel and conduct the PV rejected heat to the cooling fluid. tures Ti are shown in Fig. 1
This heat can be used in applications that require low-tem- The energy balance to the glass cover gives
perature heat (e.g., sanitary hot water, or swimming pool dT 1
m1 Cp1 ¼ C 11 ðT 1  T amb Þ þ C 12 ðT 41  T 4sky Þ
heating). PV/T collectors can be classified according to dt
the cooling fluid used, and are usually divided into water- þ C 13 ðT 2  T 1 Þ ð2Þ
collectors and air-collectors. The former are more usual,
due to their greater efficiency, while the latter are mostly The energy balance to the PV module results in
used in air pre-heating, cooling, ventilation, Chow et al. dT 2
(2007). Among the several water-cooled collector models m2 Cp2 ¼ C 21 G þ C 22 ðT 2  T 1 Þ þ C 23 ðT 42  T 41 Þ
dt
available, the sheet-and-tube design is considered the most  C 24 ge G  C 25 ðT 2  T 3 Þ  C 25 ðT 2  T 4 Þ ð3Þ
promising one, since it is the cheapest to build, while its
efficiency is only slightly lower than the remaining ones. The energy balance to the absorber fin gives
Within the sheet-and-tube category, the glass-covered col- dT 3
lector obtains the largest thermal efficiencies and highest m3 Cp3 ¼ C 31 ðT 2  T 3 Þ þ C 32 ðT 46  T amb Þ
dt
fluid temperatures, revealing itself as the most suitable  
K 1 T 2 þ K 2 T amb
one for sanitary hot water market, Zondag et al. (2004). þ C 33 T 4  ð4Þ
K3
Since domestic sanitary hot water applications will repre-
sent the most promising market for PV/T solar plants, this The energy balance to the absorber connection to the
was the design chosen for modeling purposes in the present circulation tubes gives
work. dT 4
m4 Cp4 ¼ C 41 ðT 2  T 4 Þ þ C 42 ðT 4  T 5 Þ
dt
2.1.2. Flat plate collector model  
K 1 T 2 þ K 2 T amb
2.1.2.1. Optical model. To conveniently describe a hybrid  C 33 T 4  ð5Þ
K3
collector, both an optical model and an energetic model
should be addressed. The optical model developed is based The energy balance to the circulating fluid in the tubes
on Fresnel laws and takes in consideration the different col- gives
1988 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996

dT 5 this factor has an impact on the performance of the tank

m5 Cp5 ¼ C 51 ðT 4  T 5 Þ þ C 52 ð2T 5  T fin Þ ð6Þ
dt in the order of 3%.
The energy equation in the tank gives
where T5 represents the fluid medium temperature given by
T out þ T in @T t @ 2 T t U int P @T t
T5 ¼ ð7Þ qCp ¼k 2 þ ðT m  T t Þ  uqCp
2 @t @x At @x
U ext P
The parameters Cij and Ki are constants used to simplify  ðT t  T amb Þ ð10Þ
At
the expressions and are non-temperature dependence prop-
erties obtained from collector geometric values, optical The energy equation for the heat exchanger fluid is sim-
properties, and heat transfer coefficients. The electrical ilar to the tank, with the only difference that the axial con-
and thermal efficiencies are given by duction term along the fluid will not be taken in
consideration, due to the small cross-sectional area. The
ge ¼ gcel sg ð8Þ
resulting equation is
mC p ðT out  T fin Þ
gt ¼ ð9Þ @T m U int P @T m U ext P
G qCp ¼ ðT t  T m Þ þ um qCp 
@t Am @x Am
 ðT m  T amb Þ ð11Þ
2.2. Storage tank
To model the heat transfer between the heat exchanger
2.2.1. Mantle tank and the tank a correlation proposed by Baur et al. (1993)
The option for energy storage chosen for the vast major- is used. This correlation considers heat transfer between
ity of domestic solar plants is the stratified thermal storage two flat plates with perfect insulation in one side, and con-
tank, due to its simplicity and low cost. One of the most stant heat flux in the other.
competitive designs for sanitary hot water market is the
1:2
stratified hot-water tank with mantle heat exchanger 0:0606 RePrD
x
h

(Han et al., 2008). In this type of design, the heat exchanger NuðxÞ ¼ 4:9 þ
0:7 0:1 ð12Þ
1 þ 0:0909 RePrD
x
h
Pr
is incorporated into the storage tank (see Fig. 2), ensuring
simplicity, small size and high stratification level at low
To apply this correlation to a mantle heat exchanger Baur
cost. Since the sanitary hot water applications may repre-
et al. (1993) suggests that a correction factor of C = 1.7
sent the major potential market for PV/T solar plants
should be used, resulting in the following equation
(Zondag et al., 2005), this was the design chosen for mod-
eling purposes in the present study. kNu
U int ¼ C ð13Þ
Dh
2.2.2. Tank model
In the tank model, it is assumed that the flow in the inte-
rior is unidimensional (piston-like or plug flow). This
approximation is reasonable in most part of the tank
domain, being less precise in the areas near the inlet and
outlet. The non-stationary terms of the fluid temperature
in the tank and heat exchanger are included. The losses
to the environment through the top, bottom and lateral
walls are also included. The advection energy transferences
are not considered since, accordingly to Baur et al. (1993),
they tend to overestimate in no flow periods by two orders
of magnitude. The convection between the tank and heat
exchanger is modeled by empirical correlations obtained
for the mantle tank. The axial conduction in the walls of
the tank is included since it destroys the stratification (Baur
et al., 1993). In the mantle side, the axial conduction term is
not considered since the cross-sectional area is very small
when compared with the area of the tank. Radial conduc-
tion is not considered since is very small when compared
with the other heat transfer mechanisms. In both the con-
sumer and heat exchanger side the enthalpy terms are
included. The diffusion due to turbulent mixing in the entry
zone is also included. Accordingly to Jordan et al. (2004) Fig. 2. Stratified hot-water tank with mantle heat exchanger.
 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996 1989

For the other internal heat convections coefficients, the to nature’s intrinsic non-deterministic characteristics.
approximations made by Baur et al. (1993) were used. Fol- Therefore a semi-empirical meteorological model may be
lowing this premises, a global transmission coefficient of a reasonable commitment between the necessity of general-
2000 W/m2 K for the tank internal convection coefficient is ization provided by a pure analytic approach, and the real-
considered, which in practice eliminates this heat resistance. ism provided by experimental data. In the present work a
The turbulent diffusion coefficient in the entrance region semi-empiric model based on external monthly-averaged
is accounted by an effective diffusion coefficient eeff, and his climatologically data is combined with analytical expres-
variation along the tank height is given by the following sions in order to determine daily and/or hourly values.
correlations proposed by Zurigat et al. (2001). The averaged monthly radiation data is obtained from
A external data sources (Meteonorm, P-Clima) and the hourly
eeff ¼ þB ð14Þ values in the collector’s tilted plane is calculated with the
N st
so-called HDKR model (Hay, Davies, Klucher and
ein
eff  1
A¼ ð15Þ Reindl), Duffie and Beckman (1981).
1  N1st
B ¼ ein 3. System model
eff  A ð16Þ
where Nst represents the layer number, and the turbulent The installation layout was assembled in the integrated
diffusion coefficient in the inlet region ein
eff for side, perfo- environment of Matlab/Simulink through the use of S-
rate disc, and impingement inlet is given respectively by functions (application programming interfaces) in a
 0:894 block-oriented modeling philosophy, and consists in a
Re
ein
eff ¼ 0:344 ð17Þ PV/T collector, storage tank, controller, radiation, and
Ri
 0:586 consumption blocks.
in Re The SystemTest application is used to automate the test-
eeff ¼ 3:54 ð18Þ
Ri ing routines, and the Matlab Distributed Computing Ser-
 0:522 ver application allowed us to distribute the various tests
Re
ein
eff ¼ 4:75 ð19Þ over a low-cost cluster in a short time basis. The dataflow,
Ri
communications, and platform integration philosophy is
Due to thermal stratification of the hot water, an average presented in Fig. 3.
temperature is assumed, which is calculated from the inlet Since most of the PV/T systems are expected to provide
to the maximum mixing height. To calculate the mixing electricity to the public grid, an inverter was also intro-
height, an approximation followed by Jordan et al. duced to convert DC current into AC. A typical average
(2004) is used, where it is assumed that the buoyancy forces efficiency of 90% was considered.
of inverted fluid layers equal the fluid inertial forces due to To reach the desired consume temperature, and also to
the inlet velocity. The resulting equations are provide thermal backup in the days of low-radiation, a nat-
1 ural gas boiler was introduced.
q  m2 ¼ ½qTin  rho  storeðhmaxÞ   g  hmax ð20Þ
2 Tin eff
m_ 4. Simulations
meff ¼ ð21Þ
qTin  p  r2eff
4.1. PV/T collector simulation
The fluid velocity is substituted by an effective velocity
meff, which accounts for the velocity reduction in the inlet 4.1.1. Performance
device, m_ represents the mass flow rate, qTin represents In the hybrid collector simulation, it was verified that
the fluid density at the inlet and reff the entrance effective the covered sheet-and-tube design obtains an overall effi-
radius. In case of inverted temperature layers it is assumed ciency of 67% (see Fig. 4). In an economical perspective
that they mix together. A finite difference method is used to approach it is expected that the monocrystalline-Si (with
perform the integration of the resulting system of differen- 52% electrical efficiency and 15% thermal efficiency) collec-
tial equations. In order to avoid instabilities in large time tors become the most competitive due to the superior rev-
steps, the first derivative is discretized with upwind regres- enue associated with the electrical component. The main
sive differences, and the second derivative with central dif- factors responsible for the lower thermal efficiency of a
ferences. The time integration is performed on the Simulink hybrid collector when compared with a thermal collector
environment and a Courant number inferior to 0.5 was were identified. Among these, there is the energy that is
used to avoid numerical diffusion. redirected to the electrical production, the inferior optical
properties (lower absorptance, and higher emittance), the
2.3. Solar radiation model reflection losses in the encapsulation and the additional
thermal resistance created by the adhesive. The lower elec-
Meteorological conditions at a particular location are trical efficiency when compared to a photovoltaic collector
very difficult to predict with pure analytical models, due is due to the optical losses in the glass cover.
1990 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996

Fig. 3. Integrated simulation platform philosophy.

Fig. 4. Thermal and electrical efficiencies m-Si: monocrystalline cells, p-Si: polycrystalline cells, a-Si: amorphous cells.

4.1.2. Sensitivity analysis It was verified that the thermal characteristics of the
A sensitivity analysis showed that the most important adhesive and a flow regime have a significant impact in
factor in the heat losses is the emittance of the solar cells the overall efficiency and should be taken in consideration
(see Fig. 5). during the optimization of a hybrid solar system. It was also
 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996
Fig. 5. Sensitivity analysis on PV/T thermal performance.
observed that by not considering the angular dependence of
optical properties associated with the components of the
radiation other than the direct, there can be an overestima-
tion on electrical and thermal efficiencies in the order of 2%.
4.1.3. PV/T with vacuum insulation
The introduction of vacuum between the cells and the
glass cover reduces thermal losses. With this option there
is also a possibility that the encapsulation of the PV mod-
ule could be removed, since there is less risk of cell degra-
dation due to air contact. This decreases significantly the
PV module radiation losses since the exposed cells have sig-
nificantly lower emissivities (0.35) when compared with
the encapsulation glass (0.9). The studies conducted
showed that this option allows for an 8% increase in the
thermal efficiency while the electrical efficiency remains
approximately unaltered, due to the increased optical per-
formance (see Fig. 6). The use of vacuum also reduces
the design mass flow rate promoting the use of low-flow
regimes. This kind of systems is used in several European
countries and is characterized by having flow regimes
decreased by factors of 5–10, using specific flow rates of
7–15 l/(h m2) instead of the traditional 50–70 l/(h m2). His
principal advantage is the size reduction of some compo-
nents e.g. pipes, valves, exchangers (Kenjo et al., 2003).
One fact that should be taken in consideration is that the
use of vacuum can induce very high temperatures in the
collector components. This fact implies an increase on
the components robustness and a higher degree of control
to avoid material degradation during stagnation
conditions.
4.1.4. Installation area requirements
In a comparison between a solar hybrid system and a
separated thermal and electrical system for a fixed area of
installation, it was verified that the PV/T option acquires
a clear advantage.
For a monocrystalline collector, if one pretends to
obtain the same thermal and electric yield, it would require
1991
an additional 60% of installation area. This fact suggests
that the hybrid solar system becomes very competitive in
situations where the installation area limited (e.g. top of
buildings).
4.1.5. Comparison with experimental data
The simulation results were compared with experimental
data obtained by Zondag et al., showing a good agreement,
with an error inferior to 2%, in the whole temperature
range (see Fig. 7).
4.2. Mantle tank simulation
4.2.1. Performance
It was verified that the mantle tank can provide thermal
stratification during operation. In the stand-by operation
mode it was found that the storage tank keeps roughly
80% of its thermal energy during 24 h, decreasing to about
70% after 2 days. A sensitivity analysis has shown that a
reduction in half of the heat conduction to the exterior,
allowed an increase on energy efficiency of 8% after one
day, and 12% after 2 days. Fig. 8 shows the performance
of a tank over the time where U stands for the global heat
transmission coefficient to exterior.
Parametric studies were made to assess the influence of
certain parameters onto the energy and exergy perfor-
mance of the storage tank during several possible operation
modes.
We confirmed that a second law analysis yields more
information about the tank performance, when compared
with a first law analysis, since it also quantifies energy qual-
ity degradation.
During the discharge operation mode, mass flow
regime, and the inlet device configuration have a signifi-
cant impact on the stratification. An analysis of the dis-
charge exergy efficiency led to the conclusion that the
exergy loss occurring due to a complete extraction ranges
from 15% to 30%, depending on the inlet device and the
mass flow rate. This fact shows how important are
1992 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996

Fig. 6. Performance of a PV/T collector with vacuum thermal insulation.

Fig. 7. PV/T model validation with experimental data.

Fig. 8. Deposit thermal performance.

R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996 1993

Fig. 9. Tank model validation with experimental data.

Fig. 10. Adjustment of orientation for maximum energetic output.

Fig. 11. Solar tracking potential.

1994 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996
discharge strategies that minimize stratification destruc-
tion, such as the inclusion of thermo-mixing valves into
the hot water circuit.
4.2.2. Tank model validation
Comparisons were made with experimental data
obtained by Baur et al. (1993), A good agreement was
found for the heating mode, while for a combined heating
/ discharge mode a reasonable agreement was obtained. In
the figure below the variables T1–T7 represent the water
tank temperatures from bottom to the top at equally dis-
tanced nodes.
In the experiment the tank is heated with a constant
mantle inlet flow rate which causes the stratified tempera-
ture increase shown in Fig. 9. At t = 1 h and t = 3.5 h the
tank heating is combined with two sudden draws that cause
the sharp temperature decreases. At t = 6.5 h the mantle
inlet temperature is reduced to 30° causing the decrease
in tank temperatures, due to the fact that the tank starts
to transfer heat to the mantle. The results obtained are con-
sistent with the results obtained by Baur et al. (1993).
4.3. Solar radiation simulation
4.3.1. Orientation adjustment
Sensitivity studies were conducted with respect to the
collector orientation. It was verified that for the Portuguese
climate, lower collector inclinations favor the hot season’s
performance (useful for pool heating) while higher angles
favor the colder season’s performance (useful for space
heating). The best annual inclination angle obtained for
the city of Lisbon is 32°, and the best azimuth is 0° south.
Fig. 10 shows the solar collector orientation that maxi-
mizes the energetic output for a particular season.
4.3.2. Solar tracking
The potential of solar tracking was studied, concluding
that in comparison to the steady system, the one-axis sys-
Fig. 12. Annual performance.
tems allow for an increase of 5% for variable inclination,
and 25% for variable azimuth, while the two-axis tracking
provides a 39% increase (see Fig. 11). In a general way, one
may conclude that solar tracking acquires more potential
in locations where the direct radiation percentage is rela-
tively high. Nevertheless some simple inexpensive proce-
dures can be applied to fixed systems, such as seasonal
inclination adjustment routines included in the typical
maintenance procedures.
5. Global annual simulation
5.1. Global annual performance
Annual simulations show that the average solar fraction
obtained for a four-person single-familiar residency in Lis-
bon and a p-Si cell collector area of 6 m2, is 67%, with an
average global energy efficiency of 25% (15% thermal and
9% electrical) (see Fig. 12).
A sensitivity analysis showed that one of the most signif-
icant external variables in the optimization of PV/T sys-
tems is the load-consumption profile (see Fig. 13).
This fact creates a great challenge for optimization pro-
cedures, and control strategies, since domestic hot water
consumption requirements and distribution, are difficult
parameter to estimate, and are often based on rough
approximations.
5.2. Comparison between an equatorial and temperate
country
The solar fraction difference from load-consumption pro-
files concentrated in the initial part of the day to load-con-
sumption profiles concentrated in the end part of the day
can amount up to 15%. A simulation of the hybrid system
performance in an equatorial country (Cabo-Verde) was
also made. It was concluded that these systems do have a
 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996 1995

Fig. 13. PV/T system performance in Portugal for different consume profiles.

Fig. 14. PV/T system performance in Cabo-Verde.

greater potential in such countries (increase of the solar frac-
tion up to 92% and overall efficiency to 27%) (see Fig. 14).
6. Conclusions
It has been demonstrated that hybrid PV/T systems can
conveniently replace conventional solar thermal systems in
hot water supply. The results obtained showed a solar frac-
tion of 67%, obtained for a four-person single-familiar res-
idency in Lisbon, a p-Si cell PV/T collector area of 6 m2,
and a global annual energy efficiency of 24% (15% thermal
and 9% electrical). A comparison between a solar PV/T
system and a separated thermal and electrical system, for
a fixed area of installation, showed that the PV/T option
acquires a significant advantage in combined output of
electricity and heat. For a PV/T with m-Si cells collector,
if one intends to obtain the same thermal and electric yield
with separated PV plus thermal solar modules, it would
require an additional 60% of installation area. It should
also be emphasized that the economical revenues associ-
ated with electricity production are higher then with low-
temperature heat. A sensitivity analysis performed on the
PV/T collector suggests that the most important parameter
that should be addressed in the thermal performance opti-
mization is the PV module emittance. Based on these
results, some suggestions to improve the thermal perfor-
mance of the PV/T collector were made. One interesting
possibility proposed in this study is that the collector
encloses vacuum or a rare (noble) gas at low-pressure,
which allows for the removal of inner cell glass encapsula-
tion, in order to reduce their emissivity and optical losses
by reflection. The preliminary results obtained reveal that
this option generates a considerable increase in optical
thermal efficiency, a reduction on thermal losses and higher
fluid working temperatures. The electrical performance
decrease due to higher cell temperature was negligible,
due to the optical properties increase by removal of the
glass encapsulation. These figures suggest that it could be
1996 R.M. da Silva, J.L.M. Fernandes / Solar Energy 84 (2010) 1985–1996
an interesting possibility to supply heat for industrial pro-
cess heat applications, due to the huge energetic market
that this sector represents. However, subsequent studies
should be addressed to establish if significant materials
thermal degradation occurs at high-temperature operation.
From an annual global performance point-of-view, we con-
clude that one of the most influential parameters in optimi-
zation of a PV/T system is the load-consumption profile
estimation. A simulation of a PV/T system on an equato-
rial country (Cabo-Verde) was also made. It was concluded
that these systems do have a greater potential in such
countries.
The thermodynamic modular modeling approach based
on Simulink/Matlab and applied to solar PV/T systems has
demonstrated that this kind of strategy provides a useful
and multi-purpose tool for systems modeling. This advan-
tage allows a simpler study of several design options, com-
ponent layouts, control strategies, and different
consumption (load) scenarios with a subsequent faster inte-
gration with external tools. An additional integration pos-
sibility that has been addressed on the most intensive tasks
within this work is the parallelization of test routines, link-
ing SystemTest, with Matlab Distributed Computing Server,
and Matlab/Simulink API’s. This kind of strategy simpli-
fied the process of creating a low-cost Beowulf cluster, to
use on the most computational intensive simulations. On
a future analysis of PV/T solar systems, an economic opti-
mization could be carried out, which takes into account
fixed costs, variable costs and the economical revenues
associated to each energy component produced (heat and
electricity).
Further experimental work should be carried out to
assess the performance of the vacuum PV/T collector.
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