Performance Comparison of the Standard Photovoltaic Thermal Collector (PVT) and Photovoltaic Thermal Collector with Phase Change Materials (PVT-PCM)

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the thermal and electrical efficiency of PVT-PCM and PVT for photovoltaic thermal collectors. A square absorber tube with PCM was utilized in the study, introducing a new approach to photovoltaic thermal collectors. COMSOL computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software was employed to carry out the simulations, and the tests were conducted as indoor experiments in a lab. Water was used as the transmission fluid in this study. Different volume flow rates ranging from 1-3 LPM were assessed for both experiment and simulation by considering the radiation range of 400, 600, and 800W/m(2). At a volume flow rate of 2 LPM, experimental results showed that PVT-PCM achieved higher electrical and thermal efficiencies of 9.95% and 88.3%, respectively, compared to the simulation results of 10.0% and 86.5%. Comparable outcomes were seen with both the simulation and experiment.