Performance of a Downstream Finned Solar Photovoltaic Thermal Air System

Abstract

A new photovoltaic thermal air (PVTa) system with fins in the downstream portion of the air channel was tested for its thermal and electrical performance in this work. For this purpose, two fin configurations were opted. One is a longitudinal fin oriented longitudinally along the air channel and the other is a wavy fin placed in the direction of air flow. The experiments were conducted between June and November months of the year 2018 on daily basis in the location of Tiruchirappalli, a city in Tamil Nadu state of India (10.82 latitude and 78.70 longitude). The results indicated that the PVTa system with downstream wavy fins performed thermally better than the PVTa system with downstream longitudinal fins. A fuzzy-based model was also developed for predicting the thermal and electrical performance of the newly developed solar PVTa collector. The fuzzy model forecasted the air outlet temperature, operating photovoltaic (PV) panel temperature, and power output with a net prediction accuracy of about 95%.