Thermal and Exergy Analysis of N-semi-transparent Photovoltaic Thermal Air Collectors Connected in Series/parallel

An attempt has been made to develop a thermal model of a semi-transparent photovoltaic thermal (SPVT) air collector connected in series and parallel for a given total number of PVT air collectors. It has been observed that the temperature of outlet fluid (air) increases with the increase of the number of SPVT air collectors connected in series along with the decrease in electrical efficiency of a solar cell of PV module. In order to maximise the thermal as well as electrical output, one has to analyse the combination of SPVT air collectors (N). It has been observed that: 1) all SPVT air collectors should be connected in series based on an overall thermal energy; 2) 3-SPVT and 4-SPVT air collectors should be connected in series and parallel combination respectively for maximum overall exergy for given 12-SPVT air collectors. Further, the effect of mass flow rate and packing factor has also been studied.