Study And Optimize On The Performance Of The PV-T System Based On Windows

Large Windows and especially large heat gained in summer by the room via Windows for high buildings in Nanjing generate great air conditioning energy consumption. To solve this problem, an experimental setup called PV-T based Windows Which could reduce the heat gain and also produce electric energy is designed and fabricated to investigate the PV-T system performance and the influence on the energy saving effect. The PV-T system provides a neW choice for applications. The main Work is summarized as follows.1) An experimental setup called PV-T based Windows is designed and fabricated by the author to investigate the PV-T system performance and the influence on the energy saving effect. The setup consists of particularly made Window frame, solar cells, glass Window, heat exchanger, Water tank, pump and so on. The solar cells include three mainstream types in the market, i.e. monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon and noncrystalline silicon solar cells.2) Experiments on the PV-T system in every season in Nanjing are performed in this paper. The experimental work mainly focuses on the power generation of different types of solar cells, heat-collecting capacity of cooling water and the total heat gained of the test room. The energy consumption of the test room with normal glass windows and PV-T based windows in Nanjing is compared, and the amount of energy saving with different types of PV-T system in every season of a year is summarized. It is concluded that using the PV-T system with monocrystalline silicon in summer is the best way in Nanjing to save energy. The test room area is20m2with window area2.4m2and solar cells area0.84m2. The energy saving in a year is168.8kW·h for specified working conditions, i.e.90days per season,10hr/day in summer,9hr/day in spring and autumn and8hr/day in winter.3) The test room with monocrystalline silicon PV-T based windows is simulated with Fluent, a commercial CFD software. The heat gained through every wall in typical time and the total heat gained are obtained in summer. The simulating results are compared with experimental results in chapter3. The difference is less than15%, which confirms the reliability of the simulation model. Then real area of solar cells is optimized using CFD simulation. For the test room (20m2) with window area2.4m2, the maximum PV-T based window area that fulfills room illumination requirements is1.34m2. The corresponding amount of energy saving in a year is226.34kW·h.