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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Photovoltaic/Thermal Hybrid Projects

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5398096· OSTI ID:5398096
Systems which utilize a combination of photovoltaic and thermal collection in the same solar collectors (PV/T Systems) can have advantages over PV or thermal only systems in that the cost effectiveness of the collectors and their support structure may be improved, active cooling may allow the cells to run at lower temperatures-hence higher conversion efficiency, and space limitations on side by side collectors can be avoided. Evaluation of such systems requires formulation and assessment of collector concepts, power conditioning, storage, and control strategies, and their interactions when combined into a total system. Three projects to accomplish this are currently in progress. Two of them, at MIT/Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL) and Brown University, address systems with flat plate PV/T collectors and vapor compression heat pump driven by the photovoltaic electric output. The third, at Arizona State University, is studying PV/T concentrating collectors and their potential applications, particularly to solar driven absorption chillers.
Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
EY-76-C-02-0016; AC02-76CH00016
OSTI ID:
5398096
Report Number(s):
BNL-27669
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English