Hybrid photovoltaic-thermal system for simultaneous generation of power and hot water utilising mobiltherm as heat transfer fluid

The efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) cells, also called solar cells, is a function of temperature. It decreases at the rate of 0.5% K-1 above standard test conditions (STC) of 25 degrees C. PV or solar cells have the capability of attaining a temperature of 50-60 degrees C with insolation above STC. The objective of this research is to utilise the energy from the overheating of the panel to a more usable form being the heating of water. This research deals with developing a hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) system for generating enhanced power due to the reduction in surface temperature along with hot water at 60 degrees C. The existing systems suffer from various limitations of non-uniform cooling of panels and generation of hot water at a constant temperature. The limitations are addressed in this research. Mobiltherm served as the heat transfer medium in this research. The average electrical and thermal efficiencies of the hybrid PV-T system were observed to be 13.5% and 47.24%, respectively.