Experimental study of a new hybrid water solar collector

Hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors are systems that produce electricity and heat simultaneously. These are solutions for residential applications. Extracting heat from solar cells allows them to cool and consequently improve their electrical efficiency. In this paper, a new water hybrid collector was designed and studied. The new configuration is based on a new design which increases the thermal efficiency of the hybrid collector and hence its conversion efficiency. A detailed experimental study was carried out and good results were found. The performances of the new hybrid collector were compared to that of a control photovoltaic module placed on the same structure.