Effect of Unglazed Transpired Collector on the Performance of a Polycrystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Module

The electrical power generated by a polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) module mounted on an unglazed transpired solar collector (UTC) has been studied and compared to that of a PV module without UTC for a quantitative analysis of electrical output and its role in reducing the simple payback periods of photovoltaic electrical systems. A $75W$ polycrystalline silicon PV module was fixed on an UTC in front of the ventilation fan, and effectiveness of cooling by means of the forced ventilation at the rate of $160CFM$ was monitored. The temperature reduction under forced ventilation was in the range of $3-9°C$ with a 5% recovery in the electrical output power on a typical day of the month of February 2005. The simulated and measured electrical power outputs are in reasonable agreement with root-mean-square error of 2.40. The life cycle assessment of a hypothetical PV system located at Daejeon, South Korea and consisting of $3kW$ PV modules fixed on a $50m2$ UTC shows that with a possible reduction of $3-9°C$ in the operating temperatures, the system requires three $75W$ fewer PV modules. The simple payback period of PV system is reduced from $23yearsto15years$ when integrated into an UTC air heating system.