Design of photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) platform

Abstract

To meet the Paris Agreement during the COP in 2021, Singapore has progressively been increasing the adoption of PV systems, mainly on the rooftops of residential HDB buildings. However, only partial amounts of solar irradiation that is incident upon the PV panel is converted into useful electrical energy. The remaining solar irradiation will remain as trapped residual heat in the solar panel. This residual heat causes an increase in temperature of the panel, hence decreasing the electrical conversion efficiency as well as contributing to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. With Photovoltaic-Thermal Collectors (PVT), the trapped residual heat in the PV can be extracted, improving both the solar to electrical efficiency as well as the UHI effect. This paper presents the results of a feasibility study on replacing installed PV installations with PVTs and coupling it with the domestic hot water (DHW) supply for activities such as showering and washing. Estimations on water consumption for a HDB building was done based on publicly available data and a yearly simulation was done using DHWcalc. To simulate the PVT-DHW system design, TRNSYS was chosen. The results of simulations with multiple settings are extracted and analysed. Showing technical and economical potential for PVT-DHW to replace the existing installed PV system.