Performance enhancement of an air-cooled PV/T system with a fins and ribs design

This study analyses the impact of fins, ribs, and reflective mirrors on improving the overall performance of the photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) system. Two complementary optimization strategies were explored: – Increasing the air mass flow rate from 0.0074 kg/s to 0.009 kg/s to reduce panel heating and enhance the energy production of the PV/T system. – Adding reflective mirrors with an optimal angle to increase the solar energy exploitable by the panels. The methodology employed involves numerical simulations conducted using ANSYS Fluent software, based on the climatic conditions of the Oujda region in eastern Morocco. The reliability of the numerical model has been validated by comparing it with experimental data from the scientific literature. The results obtained clearly demonstrate that increasing the air mass flow rate from 0.0074 kg/s to 0.09 kg/s resulted in a significant improvement in thermal efficiency, from approximately 17% to 42%. At the same time, the electrical efficiency showed a slight improvement due to the decrease in the PV cell temperature. An optimal air mass flow rate of around 0.0457 kg/s was identified. The addition of reflective mirrors improved thermal performance in the PV/T system but decreased electrical efficiency, thus lowering overall efficiency. A maximum overall PV/T efficiency performance is obtained at mirror angles θ 1 = 0° and θ 2 = 30°. The study therefore provides new insights into performance optimization strategies for air-cooled PV/T systems under Moroccan climatic conditions.