A techno-economic analysis for an integrated solar PV/T system for building applications

This study presents a techno-economic assessment about an integrated energy system based on hybrid Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) panels to cater the energy demand for an apparel manufacturing application. The energy system consists of PV/T panels, H2 storage, electrolyzer, fuel cell and a latent heat thermal storage. A computational model (energy flow model combined with an economic model) is developed to assess the performance of the system. The computational model is simulated on hourly basis for a selected set of representative days of the year. The responses of energy storage and local grid according to demand variations of the application are evaluated subsequently considering the economic aspects. A novel dispatch strategy is introduced to charge and discharge energy storage based on the real time pricing of the grid. The response of local grid with the changes in system configuration is analyzed in the study. The potential of harvesting energy from integrated PV/T systems is emphasized by comparing the grid interaction with the in different climatic conditions is through case studies for different geographic locations. Results obtained from the study demonstrate the feasibility of integrated energy systems based on PV/T.