IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v34y2009i7p913-921.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effect of air gap on the performance of building-integrated photovoltaics

Author

Listed:
  • Gan, Guohui

Abstract

Ventilation of photovoltaic (PV) modules installed over or beside a building envelope can reduce the module temperature and increase the electrical conversion efficiency. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method has been used to assess the effect of the size of air gap between PV modules and the building envelope on the PV performance in terms of cell temperature for a range of roof pitches and panel lengths and to determine the minimum air gap that is required to minimise PV overheating. It has been found that the mean PV temperature and the maximum PV temperature associated with hot spots decrease with the increase in pitch angle and air gap. The mean PV temperature also decreases with increasing panel length for air gaps greater than or equal to 0.08m whereas the maximum PV temperature generally increases with panel length. To reduce possible overheating of PV modules and hot spots near the top of modules requires a minimum air gap of 0.12–0.15m for multiple module installation and 0.14–0.16m for single module installation depending on roof pitches.

Suggested Citation

  • Gan, Guohui, 2009. "Effect of air gap on the performance of building-integrated photovoltaics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 913-921.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:34:y:2009:i:7:p:913-921
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2009.04.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544209001042
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2009.04.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Skoplaki, E. & Palyvos, J.A., 2009. "Operating temperature of photovoltaic modules: A survey of pertinent correlations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 23-29.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Agathokleous, Rafaela A. & Kalogirou, Soteris A., 2016. "Double skin facades (DSF) and building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV): A review of configurations and heat transfer characteristics," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 743-756.
    2. Yiqing Dai & Yu Bai, 2020. "Performance Improvement for Building Integrated Photovoltaics in Practice: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-22, December.
    3. Kaldellis, J.K. & Kokala, A., 2010. "Quantifying the decrease of the photovoltaic panels’ energy yield due to phenomena of natural air pollution disposal," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 4862-4869.
    4. Assoa, Ya Brigitte & Sauzedde, François & Boillot, Benjamin, 2018. "Numerical parametric study of the thermal and electrical performance of a BIPV/T hybrid collector for drying applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(PA), pages 121-131.
    5. Chow, T.T., 2010. "A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 365-379, February.
    6. Sohani, Ali & Sayyaadi, Hoseyn & Miremadi, Seyed Rahman & Yang, Xiaohu & Doranehgard, Mohammad Hossein & Nizetic, Sandro, 2023. "Determination of the best air space value for installation of a PV façade technology based on 4E characteristics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    7. Ali, Ahmed Hamza H. & Ahmed, Mahmoud & Abdel-Gaied, S.M., 2013. "Investigation of heat transfer and fluid flow in transitional regime inside a channel with staggered plates heated by radiation for PV/T system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 255-264.
    8. V. Tirupati Rao & Y. Raja Sekhar, 2023. "Hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PVT) Collector Systems With Different Absorber Configurations For Thermal Management – A Review," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(3), pages 690-735, May.
    9. Zogou, Olympia & Stapountzis, Herricos, 2011. "Experimental validation of an improved concept of building integrated photovoltaic panels," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 3488-3498.
    10. Huh, Daihong & Choi, Hak-Jong & Byun, Minseop & Kim, Kwan & Lee, Heon, 2019. "Long-term analysis of PV module with large-area patterned anti-reflective film," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 525-528.
    11. Jiashu Kong & Yitong Dong & Aravind Poshnath & Behzad Rismanchi & Pow-Seng Yap, 2023. "Application of Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) in Net-Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-26, September.
    12. D'Orazio, M. & Di Perna, C. & Di Giuseppe, E., 2014. "Experimental operating cell temperature assessment of BIPV with different installation configurations on roofs under Mediterranean climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 378-396.
    13. Sharples, Steve & Radhi, Hassan, 2013. "Assessing the technical and economic performance of building integrated photovoltaics and their value to the GCC society," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 150-159.
    14. Ali, Ahmed Hamza H. & Ahmed, Mahmoud & Youssef, M.S., 2010. "Characteristics of heat transfer and fluid flow in a channel with single-row plates array oblique to flow direction for photovoltaic/thermal system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 3524-3534.
    15. Wu, Ying-Ying & Wu, Shuang-Ying & Xiao, Lan, 2018. "Heat dissipation characteristics from photovoltaic cells within the partitioned or non-partitioned glazed cavity to the windy environment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 642-652.
    16. Sun, Wei & Ji, Jie & He, Wei, 2010. "Influence of channel depth on the performance of solar air heaters," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(10), pages 4201-4207.
    17. Tsay, Y.L. & Cheng, J.C. & Hong, H.F. & Shih, Z.H., 2011. "Characteristics of heat dissipation from photovoltaic cells on the bottom wall of a horizontal cabinet to ambient natural convective air stream," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 3959-3967.
    18. Ana Tejero-González & Dorota Anna Krawczyk & José Ramón Martín-Sanz García & Francisco Javier Rey-Martínez & Eloy Velasco-Gómez, 2019. "Improved Performance of a PV Integrated Ventilated Façade at an Existing nZEB," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-14, August.
    19. Fuentes, M. & Vivar, M. & de la Casa, J. & Aguilera, J., 2018. "An experimental comparison between commercial hybrid PV-T and simple PV systems intended for BIPV," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 110-120.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ahmad Hasan & Sarah Josephine McCormack & Ming Jun Huang & Brian Norton, 2014. "Energy and Cost Saving of a Photovoltaic-Phase Change Materials (PV-PCM) System through Temperature Regulation and Performance Enhancement of Photovoltaics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Assoa, Y.B. & Levrard, D., 2020. "A lightweight triangular building integrated photovoltaic module," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    3. Rustemli, Sabir & Dincer, Furkan & Unal, Emin & Karaaslan, Muharrem & Sabah, Cumali, 2013. "The analysis on sun tracking and cooling systems for photovoltaic panels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 598-603.
    4. Sripadmanabhan Indira, Sridhar & Aravind Vaithilingam, Chockalingam & Sivasubramanian, Ramsundar & Chong, Kok-Keong & Narasingamurthi, Kulasekharan & Saidur, R., 2022. "Prototype of a novel hybrid concentrator photovoltaic/thermal and solar thermoelectric generator system for outdoor study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 224-239.
    5. Krzysztof Barbusiński & Paweł Kwaśnicki & Anna Gronba-Chyła & Agnieszka Generowicz & Józef Ciuła & Bartosz Szeląg & Francesco Fatone & Agnieszka Makara & Zygmunt Kowalski, 2024. "Influence of Environmental Conditions on the Electrical Parameters of Side Connectors in Glass–Glass Photovoltaic Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-13, January.
    6. Chiacchio, Ferdinando & D’Urso, Diego & Famoso, Fabio & Brusca, Sebastian & Aizpurua, Jose Ignacio & Catterson, Victoria M., 2018. "On the use of dynamic reliability for an accurate modelling of renewable power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 605-621.
    7. Rawat, Rahul & Kaushik, S.C. & Lamba, Ravita, 2016. "A review on modeling, design methodology and size optimization of photovoltaic based water pumping, standalone and grid connected system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1506-1519.
    8. Chatzipanagi, Anatoli & Frontini, Francesco & Virtuani, Alessandro, 2016. "BIPV-temp: A demonstrative Building Integrated Photovoltaic installation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 1-12.
    9. Teodoro Semeraro & Roberta Aretano & Amilcare Barca & Alessandro Pomes & Cecilia Del Giudice & Elisa Gatto & Marcello Lenucci & Riccardo Buccolieri & Rohinton Emmanuel & Zhi Gao & Alessandra Scognamig, 2020. "A Conceptual Framework to Design Green Infrastructure: Ecosystem Services as an Opportunity for Creating Shared Value in Ground Photovoltaic Systems," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-28, July.
    10. Chang-Gi Min & Jong Keun Park & Don Hur & Mun-Kyeom Kim, 2015. "The Economic Viability of Renewable Portfolio Standard Support for Offshore Wind Farm Projects in Korea," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-20, September.
    11. Quesada, B. & Sánchez, C. & Cañada, J. & Royo, R. & Payá, J., 2011. "Experimental results and simulation with TRNSYS of a 7.2Â kWp grid-connected photovoltaic system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(5), pages 1772-1783, May.
    12. Roumpakias, Elias & Zogou, Olympia & Stamatelos, Anastassios, 2015. "Correlation of actual efficiency of photovoltaic panels with air mass," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 70-77.
    13. Pang, Wei & Cui, Yanan & Zhang, Qian & Wilson, Gregory.J. & Yan, Hui, 2020. "A comparative analysis on performances of flat plate photovoltaic/thermal collectors in view of operating media, structural designs, and climate conditions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    14. Henrik Zsiborács & Gábor Pintér & Attila Bai & József Popp & Zoltán Gabnai & Béla Pályi & István Farkas & Nóra Hegedűsné Baranyai & Christian Gützer & Heidelinde Trimmel & Sandro Oswald & Philipp Weih, 2018. "Comparison of Thermal Models for Ground-Mounted South-Facing Photovoltaic Technologies: A Practical Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-18, May.
    15. D'Orazio, M. & Di Perna, C. & Di Giuseppe, E., 2014. "Experimental operating cell temperature assessment of BIPV with different installation configurations on roofs under Mediterranean climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 378-396.
    16. Alami, Abdul Hai, 2016. "Synthetic clay as an alternative backing material for passive temperature control of photovoltaic cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 195-200.
    17. Ciulla, Giuseppina & Lo Brano, Valerio & Di Dio, Vincenzo & Cipriani, Giovanni, 2014. "A comparison of different one-diode models for the representation of I–V characteristic of a PV cell," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 684-696.
    18. Camps, Xavier & Velasco, Guillermo & de la Hoz, Jordi & Martín, Helena, 2015. "Contribution to the PV-to-inverter sizing ratio determination using a custom flexible experimental setup," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 35-45.
    19. Wang, Zhaohua & Li, Yi & Wang, Ke & Huang, Zhimin, 2017. "Environment-adjusted operational performance evaluation of solar photovoltaic power plants: A three stage efficiency analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1153-1162.
    20. Gary M. Gold & Michael E. Webber, 2015. "The Energy-Water Nexus: An Analysis and Comparison of Various Configurations Integrating Desalination with Renewable Power," Resources, MDPI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-50, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:34:y:2009:i:7:p:913-921. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.