Thermosiphonic hybrid PV/T solar systems

Thermosiphon solar water heaters and Photovoltaic (PV) devices are well known solar systems that provide heat and electricity, | respectively. In this work, these two systems are combined into a hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) solar system which can simultaneously provide electricity and heat, thus achieving a higher conversion rate of the absorbed solar radiation than standard PV modules. When properly designed, PV/T systems can extract heat from PV modules which can be used to heat water or air. By ! doing so the operating temperature of PV modules is reduced, which is beneficial, as it keeps their electrical efficiency at a sufficient level. In this paper, the design considerations and experimental results of a thermosiphonic hybrid PV/T solar system are presented. The electrical and thermal energy output for a pc-Si PV/T module type under the climatic conditions of Patras are presented.