article · Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
An investigation combining numerical simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics with outdoor experimental validation evaluates the energy, exergy, and cost-effectiveness of three solar configurations: an uncooled photovoltaic system, a partially-cooled photovoltaic thermal system, and a fully-cooled photovoltaic thermal system. Across varying solar irradiation levels, the fully-cooled system delivered superior overall performance. It limited solar cell temperature increases to 7.04 °C, compared to 19.82 °C for the partially-cooled and 29.14 °C for the uncooled setups, resulting in the smallest drop in electrical efficiency at 0.48 %. Additionally, the fully-cooled design attained a maximum thermal efficiency of 77.89 % and raised thermal exergy efficiency by 11.7 %. Increasing the coolant mass flow rate boosted both electrical and thermal efficiencies across the cooled units. Economically, the fully-cooled configuration reduced the payback period by 3.86 years compared to partial cooling.
Solar panels lose electrical efficiency as they heat up in the sun. Combining solar electricity generation with liquid cooling captures excess heat for thermal use while keeping photovoltaic cells cool and efficient. Demonstrating that fully-cooled systems significantly increase overall thermal yield and shorten economic payback periods provides valuable technical guidance for designing higher-yielding, dual-purpose solar energy installations.
This work informs the design and development of integrated photovoltaic thermal equipment for combined electricity and heat generation. System integrators, solar manufacturers, and facility managers could adopt full-cooling configurations to shorten investment payback times. With experimental validation under outdoor conditions alongside numerical modelling, the findings represent an applied and tested stage of development for liquid-cooled solar collector design.
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In this paper, an experimental and numerical analysis was carried out to evaluate and compare the energy and exergy performances of three solar systems: a photovoltaic system (PV-S) without cooling, a partially-cooled photovoltaic thermal system (PVT-S) and a fully-cooled PVT-S. In addition, a comparison of payback times between PVT-Ss was carried out. The impact of mass flow and different solar irradiation levels on the energy and exergy performance of the three systems was also examined. Numerical analysis was carried out using COMSOL Multiphysics® software, and the results obtained were validated by experimental data collected in outdoor conditions. The results show that the fully-cooled system offers the best performance. Under 600–1200 W/m 2 irradiation, cell temperature rises by 29.14 °C for the uncooled PV-S, 19.82 °C for the partially-cooled PVT-S, and 7.04 °C for the fully-cooled PVT-S. Electrical efficiency (EEF) decreases by 1.98 %, 1.35 %, and 0.48 % respectively. Thermal exergy efficiency increases by 9.49 % for the partially-cooled system and 11.7 % for the fully-cooled system. Maximum thermal efficiency (TEF) reaches 60.72 % for the partially-cooled system and 77.89 % for the fully-cooled system. Increasing the mass flow rate (MFR) from 0.0167 to 0.05 kg/s improves EEF by 0.14 % and 0.33 %, and TEF by 22.72 % and 30.15 % respectively. Finally, the fully-cooled system reduces payback time by 3.86 years compared with the partially-cooled system.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.csite.2025.106660
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