Three dimensions numerical study of effect the phase change material on thermal photovoltaic system.

In this study, the effects of using pure water as the coolant and a phase change material (PCM) on the performance of a PVT system numerically investigated. By designing and modeling two similar photovoltaic thermal systems, one with a PCM medium (PVT/PCM) and one without a PCM (PVT), the simulation are performed. The calculation results for surface temperature, thermal and electrical efficiency of the systems are compared with each other.. Results show that in the PCM/ water based collector system, the average electrical output is increased by more than 1.5% compared to that of the PVT system. When the PCM was also employed (i.e., for the PVT/PCM system) the increase in the thermal efficiency was nearly 8% without any extra energy consumption