WARM CLIMATE APPLICATION OF HYBRID PHOTOVOLTAIC AND WATER-HEATING SYSTEM

Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) systems integrate photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies into onesingle system with dual production of electricity and heat energy. There are alternative designs to suitdifferent applications. For a given collector surface area, the overall system energy performance ishigher than the conventional "side-by-side" PV and solar thermal systems. This helps to promote PVsince the economic payback period of PV/T is much shorter. In this paper, the various water-basedPV/T systems and products are reviewed. The experimental and simulation results of some new andpromising designs suitable for warm climate applications are presented. Comparisons are madebetween natural flow and forced flow systems, glazed and unglazed conditions and so on. Alsodiscussed are the marketing potentials of the PV/T technology.