Effect of fluid flow and packing factor on energy performance of a wall-mounted hybrid photovoltaic/water-heating collector system

Façade-integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BiPV/T) technology is a relatively new concept in improving the overall energy performance of PV installations in buildings. With the use of wall-mounted water-type PV/T collectors, the system not only generates electricity and hot water simultaneously, but also improves the thermal insulation of the building envelope. A numerical model of this hybrid system was developed by modifying the Hottel–Whillier model, which was originally for the thermal analysis of flat-plate solar thermal collectors. Computer simulation was performed to analyze the system performance. The combined effects of the solar cell packing factor and the water mass flow rate on the thermal and electrical efficiencies were investigated. The simulation results indicated that an optimum water mass flow rate existed in the system through which the desirable integrated energy performance can be achieved.