Comparative experimental analysis of three Bi-fluid composite cooling configurations in micro heat pipe PV/T system

Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) technology allows for efficient simultaneous heat and power generation; however, existing air-cooled or liquid-cooled technologies have limited flexibility due to their proprietary heat extraction procedures, limiting their use. The study designed and built three different types of air- and liquid-cooled composite cooling double-glass flat-plate micro heat-pipe photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) modules (Bi-fluid PV/T-I, II, and III) using air and liquid cooling. All three have the same basic co-generation functionality, but they differ in the amount and arrangement of solar cells, flat-plate micro heat pipes, and absorbing blue coatings. Experimental testing was conducted under identical climatic and operating settings to compare the production capacity features and economic benefits of these three different configuration choices. Three composite cooling plate micro heat pipe photovoltaic/thermal (Bi-fluid PV/T) modules were tested for photovoltaic, solar thermal, and integrated performance. A manufacturing expense economic analysis was also done. Bi-fluid PV/T-I, II, and III have an average electrical efficiency of 9.9 %, 10.07 %, and 11.01 %, respectively. The average hot water collection efficiency is 25.45 %, 25.70 %, and 27.36 %, whereas the average hot air collection efficiency is 13.10 %, 20.07 %, and 13.61 %. The overall efficiencies averaged 48.45 %, 55.84 %, and 51.99 %, respectively. The Bi-fluid PV/T-Ⅲ module saw a 19.88 % reduction in production cost but a 6.80 % decrease in total efficiency. The Bi-fluid PV/T-II component saw a 27.95 % reduction in manufacturing costs, while its overall efficiency increased by 7.40 %. The Bi-fluid PV/T-III component had the most expensive manufacturing costs. It also enables the diversity of PV/T application scenarios, hence increasing economic benefits.