Designing photovolaic/thermal solar collectors for building integration

Abstract

With concern growing over the environment and resource use, there has been greater emphasis placed on sustainability, particularly in the built environment. One of the key points of sustainable urban environments is the need for an increase in the densification of the population. A by-product of increased densification however, is a reduction in the area per person that can be used for on-site renewable energy generation from the solar resource. Where previously it would have been possible to have a photovoltaic array and solar water heater side-by-side for a free-standing household, this may not be achievable in a high-density living situation. As a counterpoint to this issue, the design of a novel combined photovoltaic/thermal for building integration (BIPVT) solar collector is analysed and discussed. The panel has a higher efficiency per unit area, than an array of photovoltaic panels in combination with solar thermal panels. In addition, by integrating electricity generation, water heating and facade elements it is possible to reduce the complexity associated with traditional solar installations while also achieving an architecturally sensitive appearance. As such the BIPVT is ideally suited to environments where facade space with suitable solar access is limited, or where large numbers of people share a single building. In this study, the influence of key design parameters on the performance of a BIPVT collector are presented and discussed. Finally, a transient systems analysis is used to illustrate the performance benefits of BIPVT style collectors over traditional technologies.