Experimental evaluation of factors affecting performance of concentrating photovoltaic/thermal system integrated with phase‐change materials(PV/T‐CPCM)

The photovoltaic/thermal(PV/T)system is a promising option for countering energy shortages.To improve the performance of PV/T systems,compound parabolic concentrators(CPCs)and phase-change materials(PCMs)were jointly applied to construct a concentrating photovoltaic/thermal system integrated with phase-change materials(PV/T-CPCM).An open-air environment is used to analyze the effects of different parameters and the intermittent operation strategy on the system performance.The results indicate that the short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage are positively correlated with the solar irradiance,but the open-circuit voltage is negatively correlated with the temperature of the PV modules.When the solar irradiance is 500 W⋅m^(−2) and the temperature of the PV modules is 27.5℃,the short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage are 1.0 A and 44.5 V,respectively.Higher solar irradiance results in higher thermal power,whereas the thermal efficiency is under lower solar irradiance(136.2-167.1 W⋅m^(−2) is twice under higher solar irradiance(272.3-455.7 W⋅m^(−2))).In addition,a higher mass flow rate corresponds to a better cooling effect and greater pump energy consumption.When the mass flow rate increases from 0.01 to 0.02 kg⋅s^(-1),the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet decreases by 1.8℃,and the primary energy-saving efficiency decreases by 0.53%.The intermittent operation of a water pump can reduce the energy consumption of the system,and the combination of liquid cooling with PCMs provides better thermal regulation and energy-saving effects under various conditions.