Photovoltaic Thermal Hybrid Solar Collectors
Photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collectors(PVT), are systems that convert solar radiation into thermal and electrical energy. These systems combine a photovoltaic cell, which converts electromagnetic radiation (photons) into electricity, with a solar thermal collector, which captures the remaining energy and removes waste heat from the PV module. Photovoltaic (PV) cells suffer from a drop in efficiency with the rise in temperature due to increased resistance. Most such systems can be engineered to carry heat away from the PV cells thereby cooling the cells and thus improving their efficiency by lowering resistance. Although this is an effective method, it causes the thermal component to under-perform compared to a solar thermal collector. Recent research showed that a-Si:H PV with low temperature coefficients allow the PVT to be operated at high temperatures, creating a more symbiotic PVT system and improving performance of the a-Si:H PV by about 10%.
Read more about this topic: Amorphous Silicon, Applications
Famous quotes containing the word solar:
“Senta: These boats, sir, what are they for?
Hamar: They are solar boats for Pharaoh to use after his death. They’re the means by which Pharaoh will journey across the skies with the sun, with the god Horus. Each day they will sail from east to west, and each night Pharaoh will return to the east by the river which runs underneath the earth.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)