Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Hybrid PV/T solar systems for domestic hot

water and electricity production
S.A. Kalogirou
a

a,*

, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos

Higher Technical Institute, P.O. Box 20423, Nicosia 2152, Cyprus

Physics Department, University of Patras, Patra 26500, Greece

Received 20 January 2005; received in revised form 26 July 2005; accepted 30 January 2006
Available online 22 March 2006

Abstract
Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems can simultaneously provide electricity and heat, achieving a higher
conversion rate of the absorbed solar radiation than standard PV modules. When properly designed, PV/T systems can
extract heat from PV modules, heating water or air to reduce the operating temperature of the PV modules and keep
the electrical eciency at a sucient level. In this paper, we present TRNSYS simulation results for hybrid PV/T solar
systems for domestic hot water applications both passive (thermosyphonic) and active. Prototype models made from polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) and amorphous silicon (a-Si) PV module types combined with water heat extraction units were
tested with respect to their electrical and thermal eciencies, and their performance characteristics were evaluated. The
TRNSYS simulation results are based on these PV/T systems and were performed for three locations at dierent latitudes,
Nicosia (35), Athens (38) and Madison (43). In this study, we considered a domestic thermosyphonic system and a larger active system suitable for a block of ats or for small oce buildings. The results show that a considerable amount of
thermal and electrical energy is produced by the PV/T systems, and the economic viability of the systems is improved.
Thus, the PVs have better chances of success especially when both electricity and hot water is required as in domestic
applications.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Solar energy; Photovoltaics; Thermal collectors; Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal system; Water heating

1. Introduction
The temperature of PV modules is increased by the absorbed solar radiation that is not converted into electricity, causing a decrease in their eciency. For monocrystalline (c-Si) and polycrystalline (pc-Si) silicon solar
cells, the eciency decreases by about 0.45% for every degree rise in temperature. For amorphous silicon (a-Si)
cells, the eect is less, with a decrease of about 0.25% per degree rise in temperature depending on the module
design. This undesirable eect can be partially avoided by a proper heat extraction with a uid circulation. In
*

Corresponding author. Tel.: +357 22 406466; fax: +357 22 406480.

E-mail address: skalogir@spidernet.com.cy (S.A. Kalogirou).

0196-8904/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2006.01.012

S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

3369

Nomenclature
Aa
a-Si
C
Cp
c-Si
Caux
CFA
CFL
Cload
d
DT
FYFS
G
i
Im
LCS
m_
N
gel
gth
p-Si
PV
PV/T
PW
Qu
Qaux
Qload
Ta
Ti
To
TPV
TPV(e)
TPV/T
Vm

collector area (m2)

amorphous silicon
investment cost ()
specic heat (kJ/kg C)
monocrystalline silicon
cost of auxiliary energy ()
cost rate of auxiliary energy (/kJ)
cost rate of conventional fuel (/kJ)
cost of fuel to cover load ()
market discount rate (%)
temperature dierence (C)
rst year fuel savings ()
total global solar radiation (W/m2)
interest rate (%)
current of PV module operating at maximum power (A)
life cycle savings ()
mass ow rate (kg/s)
number of years
electrical eciency
thermal eciency
polycrystalline silicon
photovoltaic
hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collector
present worth ()
useful energy extracted (kJ)
auxiliary energy (kJ)
energy required to cover load (kJ)
ambient temperature (C)
inlet temperature to collector (C)
outlet temperature from collector (C)
PV module temperature (C)
eective PV module temperature (C)
operating temperature of PV/T module (C)
voltage of PV module operating at maximum power (V)

hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar systems, the reduction of PV module temperature can be combined
with useful uid heating. Therefore, hybrid PV/T systems can simultaneously provide electrical and thermal
energy, achieving a higher energy conversion rate of the absorbed solar radiation. These systems consist of PV
modules coupled to heat extraction devices in which air or water of lower temperature than that of the PV
modules is heated, while at the same time, the PV module temperature is reduced. In PV/T system applications, the production of electricity is the main priority, and therefore, it is necessary to operate the PV modules
at low temperature in order to keep the PV cell electrical eciency at a sucient level. Natural or forced air
circulation are simple and low cost methods to remove heat from PV modules, but they are less eective if the
ambient air temperature is over 20 C. To overcome this eect, the heat can be extracted by circulating water
through a heat exchanger that is mounted at the rear surface of the PV module. PV/T systems provide a higher
energy output than standard PV modules and could be cost eective if the additional cost of the thermal unit is
low. Water type PV/T systems can be practical devices for water heating (mainly domestic hot water), but they
are not improved enough yet for commercial applications. Therefore, the objective of this work is to evaluate

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S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

the performance and nancial improvement of PV/T systems compared to standard PV systems, which could
prove benecial to the greater diusion of PV units. Also, for countries with good penetration of solar water
heaters (Cyprus = 93% and Greece = 25%), where it is a habit to produce hot water with solar energy, it
would be dicult to convince potential customers to install a PV system, whereas a hybrid system producing
both electricity and hot water has better chances of success.
The main concepts of hybrid PV/T systems have been presented in several publications from 1978 [15].
Other interesting applications are a low cost PV/T system with transparent type a-Si cells [6] and building integrated PV/T systems [7]. Following these initial studies, the design aspects of a water type PV/T system [8] and
a detailed analysis of liquid type PV/T systems [9] were presented. More recently, results from integrated PV/T
systems with hot water storage [10,11] and PV/T collectors with polymer absorber [12] were given. Several
other models of water cooled PV/T systems, like models for PV/T prototypes with water heat extraction
modes [13,14], modeling results [15] and a study on domestic PV/T systems [16] have been presented. Finally,
PV/T thermosyphonic solar water heaters were studied regarding their performance [17,18], and a commercial
thermosyphonic system [19] was introduced in the market. Most of the above works give experimental and
modeling results regarding the performance of PV/T systems with forced or natural ow of the heat removal
uid, but only few of them [16,19] include information on cost and energy aspects for practical applications.
The work of the authors in this area includes the design and performance improvements of hybrid PV/T
systems with water or air as heat removal uid [20]. The investigated models include a number of modications that contribute to the increase of thermal eciency, to the decrease of PV module temperature and to
the improvement of the total energy output of the PV/T system. Design concepts, prototype construction
and test results for water and air cooled PV/T systems were presented for PV/T systems with and without
an additional glass cover [20]. The dual type PV/T system, operating either with water or air heat extraction,
extends their practical use [21], and a life cycle analysis for water cooled PV/T systems compared with standard PV modules demonstrated the environmental impact of these systems [22]. In addition, economic aspects
and performance results for water cooled PV/T systems that could be applied in houses, multi-at residential
buildings, hotels, etc., show the advantages of applying PV/T systems [23].
The work of the authors includes also extensive studies of solar energy applications by using advanced simulation tools. A part of this work refers to hybrid PV/T water heaters and is based on the use of the TRNSYS
simulation program where a hybrid PV/T system was modeled and simulated for the environmental conditions
of Nicosia, Cyprus [24]. The system can satisfy part of the thermal and electrical needs of a family of four
persons. From the results presented, it was shown that the mean annual electrical eciency of the PV was
increased considerably, and the system can satisfy 50% of the thermal needs of the family.
In this paper, we present basic design considerations for hybrid PV/T systems that were investigated as prototypes that can be applied in houses, multi-at residential buildings, hotels, etc., aiming to provide both electricity and hot water. The electrical and thermal eciency of designed, constructed and tested prototype PV/T
panels of polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) and amorphous silicon (a-Si) PV modules are presented and TRNSYS
simulation results are given for Nicosia, Athens and Madison for a small thermosyphon unit (4 m2) suitable
for a single house and an active system for large scale hot water and electricity production (40 m2). The objective is to prove the potential benets of PV/T systems compared to typical PV modules. This work provides
energy and cost results regarding system application and could be considered useful to estimate the cost eectiveness of these new solar energy systems in practice.
2. Experimental PV/T systems
A PV/T system consists of a thermal unit for extraction of the heat by water, which circulates through pipes
in contact with a at sheet placed in thermal contact with the rear surface of the PV module (see details in
Section 3). Practical considerations in PV/T system design include evaluation of the thermal and electrical eciency improvement with respect to system cost. It should be noted that the cost of the thermal unit remains
the same irrespective of whether the PV module is made from c-Si, pc-Si or a-Si cells, but the ratio of the additional cost of the thermal unit per PV module cost is almost double in the case where a-Si modules are used
rather than the c-Si or pc-Si PV ones. In addition, a-Si PV modules present lower electrical eciency, although
the total energy output (electrical plus thermal) is almost equal to that of c-Si or pc-Si PV modules.

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Hybrid PV/T systems consisting of PV modules without thermal protection of their illuminated surface
from the ambient have high top thermal losses, and therefore, the operating temperature is not high. To
increase the system operating temperature, an additional transparent cover is necessary (like the glazing of
typical solar thermal collectors), but this has the result of decreasing the PV module electrical output because
of the additional absorption and reection of solar radiation. In addition, these systems use thermal insulation
to avoid thermal losses from the non-illuminated system surfaces. PV/T systems can be installed on a horizontal or inclined roof or on the facade of a building. The horizontal and inclined roof installations are of more
interest for low latitude countries, while the building facade installation is more eective for medium and high
latitude applications because of the low sun altitude angles. Smaller size PV and PV/T systems using a PV
aperture surface area of about 35 m2 and a water storage tank of 150300 l can be installed in one family
houses. Larger size systems of about 3050 m2 and 10003000 l water storage are more suitable for multi-at
residential buildings, hotels, hospitals, industries, etc. In the case of small size PV/T systems, a thermosyphonic operation (without pump for circulation of the water) can also be used, aiming to replace the wellknown at plate thermosyphonic solar water heaters.
Two types of PV/T experimental models were constructed and tested, one with pc-Si and another with a-Si
PV modules. The studied PV/T systems consist of PV modules in combination with water heat extraction units
made from copper sheet and pipes and thermally protected with 5 cm of polyurethane thermal insulation. All
models had glazing covers of 4 mm thickness to achieve satisfactory thermal output.
The experimental models of the hybrid PV/T water systems were constructed and tested outdoors for determination of the steady state thermal eciency gth and the electrical eciency gel [20]. The thermal eciency of
the experimental PV/T models is determined as a function of the global solar radiation (G), the input uid
temperature (Tin) and the ambient temperature (Ta). The electrical eciency of the PV/T systems is determined for all the PV module types as a function of the operating temperature TPV/T. During the testing for
determination of the system thermal eciency, the PV modules were connected with a load to simulate real
system operation and to avoid PV module overheating by the solar radiation that is converted into heat
instead of electricity.
The steady state eciency is calculated by:
_ p T o  T i =GAa ;
gth mC

where m_ is the uid mass ow rate, Cp the uid specic heat, Ti and To the input and output uid temperatures, respectively, and Aa the aperture area of the PV/T model. The thermal eciency gth of PV/T systems is
calculated as a function of the ratio DT/G where DT = Ti  Ta, with Ta being the ambient temperature. The
electrical eciency gel depends mainly on the incoming solar radiation and the PV module temperature (TPV)
and is calculated by:
gel I m Vm =GAa

where Im and Vm are the current and the voltage of the PV module operating at maximum power. The electrical eciency of the PV cells depends on the incoming solar radiation and their operating temperature. The
formula that can be used for calculation of the PV module temperature is a function of the ambient temperature Ta and the incoming solar radiation G and is given by Lasnier and Ang [25] as:
T PV 30 0:0175G  300 1:14T a  25

This relation is used for standard pc-Si PV modules. In PV/T systems, the PV temperature depends also on the
system operating conditions, such as the heat extraction uid mean temperature. In PV/T systems, the PV
electrical eciency gel can be a function of the parameter (TPV)e, which corresponds to the PV temperature
for the operating conditions of the PV/T systems. Thus, for the studied PV/T systems, we used the eective
value (TPV)e calculated by the formula [23]:
T PV eff T PV T PV=T  T a

The operating temperature TPV/T of the PV/T system pertains to the PV module and to the thermal unit temperatures and can be determined approximately by the mean uid temperature.

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For the a-Si PV modules, their lower electrical eciency results in slightly higher PV module temperature as
compared to pc-Si PV modules. For this purpose, the following formula, which was validated by experiments,
was used:
T PV 30 0:0175G  150 1:14T a  25

The thermal and electrical eciencies of all the studied models are the following:
pc  Si : gth 0:71  09:04DT =G gel 0:1457  0:00094T PV eff
a  Si : gth 0:75  08:83DT =G gel 0:0485  0:00011T PV eff

6
7

For the pc-Si type PV/T systems, the (TPV)e is calculated from Eqs. (3) and (4). For the calculation of (TPV)e
of a-Si type PV/T systems, Eqs. (4) and (5) are used. It should be noted that inverters, regulators and other
auxiliary equipment that constitute the Balance of System (BoS) result in reduction of the nal energy output
of all systems by about 15% [22] due to electrical and thermal losses.
3. Systems considered
In this paper, two types of PV/T systems are considered as follows:
(a) Small size PV/T solar water heating system of thermosyphonic type.
(b) Large size system with PV/T modules in parallel rows placed on a horizontal building roof with the
water storage tank located inside the building and a pump for the water circulation.
Thermosyphon systems heat potable water or a heat transfer uid. These systems need no pumps and controls to transfer the water heated by solar energy, as they use natural convection to transport it from the collector to storage. The water in the collector expands, becoming less dense as the sun heats it, and rises through
the collector into the top of the storage tank [26]. There, it is replaced by the cooler water that has sunk to the
bottom of the tank, from which it ows down the collector, and circulation continues as long as there is sunshine. In thermosyphon systems, the collector is connected with a water storage tank which is always at a
higher position so as to avoid reverse operation during the night.
Active systems on the other hand use a pump to circulate the water from the collector to storage. A typical
active system is shown in Fig. 1. The pump is operated by means of a dierential thermostat. The storage tank
can be located at any place, like behind the collectors, indoors in a plant room or any other suitable location,
and thus, there is an overall improvement in the aesthetics of the system. To avoid water freezing in the tubes
of the collector, a heat exchanger is used in the storage tank, and the heat removal uid is water with antifreeze
liquid.
The specications of the small solar system are shown in Table 1, whereas the specications of the large
system are shown in Table 2.

Relief
valve

Hot
water
Mixing supply
device

Auxiliary heater

Collector
array

Storage
tank

Burner

Differential
thermostat

Solar pump
Make-up water

Fig. 1. Active system schematic.

S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

3373

Table 1
Specication of the small solar system considered
Parameter

Specication

Collector area
Collector slope
Storage capacity
Auxiliary capacity
Hot water demand

4 m2
Latitude + 5
160 l
3 kW
120 l (4 persons)

Table 2
Specication of the large solar system considered
Parameter

Specication

Collector area
Collector slope
Storage capacity
Auxiliary capacity
Hot water demand

40 m2
Latitude + 5
1500 l
10 kW
1200 l (40 persons)

The usual type of collector employed in both thermosyphon and active units is the at plate. A typical at
plate solar collector is shown in the detail of Fig. 2. The underside of the absorber plate and the side of the
casing are well insulated to reduce conduction losses. For the present application, PV cells are installed on top
of the absorber, as shown in Fig. 2, so the absorber is the PV panel and the copper absorber acts as a heat
removal medium.
The transparent cover is used to reduce convection losses from the absorber plate through the restraint of
the stagnant air layer between the absorber plate and the glass. It also reduces radiation losses from the collector. Although the transparent cover reduces the amount of electrical energy produced by the PV panel, it is
retained for the present applications so as to increase the thermal performance of the collectors.
Natural or forced air circulation is a simple and low cost method to remove heat from PV modules, but it is
less eective at low latitudes where ambient air temperatures are over 20 C for many months of the year.
Regarding heat extraction, the water circulates through pipes in contact with a at sheet (heat exchanger)
placed in thermal contact with the PV module rear surface as shown in Fig. 2. The additional thermal protection increases the thermal eciency of the system, but the lower thermal losses keep the PV temperature at a
higher level, therefore operating with reduced electrical eciency. To increase the system operating temperature, an additional glazing is used, but this results in a decrease of the PV module electrical output because an
amount of solar radiation is absorbed by the glazing and another is reected away, depending on the angle of
incidence.
The characteristics of the solar collector considered in this study are shown in Table 3.
In PV/T systems, the collector needs to be connected electrically to the mains (for grid connected systems)
and hydraulically to a hot water storage tank. Two types of PV cells have been considered in this work polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) and amorphous silicon (a-Si).

Fig. 2. Hybrid and conventional at plate collector details.

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Table 3
Characteristics of the solar collector considered
Parameter

Characteristics

Riser pipe diameter

Header pipe diameter
Absorber plate thickness
Insulation material and thickness
Fixing of risers on the absorber plate
Glazing

15 mm
28 mm
0.5 mm
Fiber wool, 40 mm
Welded
Low-iron glass

4. System model
The system is modeled with the well-known TRNSYS program [27]. The program consists of many subroutines that model subsystem components. Once all the components of the system have been identied and a
mathematical description of each component is available, it is necessary to construct an information ow diagram for the system. The purpose of the information ow diagram is to facilitate identication of the components and the ow of information between them. From the ow diagram, a deck le has to be constructed
containing information on all system components, weather data le and the output format.
In a previous work in which an active PV/T system was modeled, it was found that the optimum water ow
rate value was 4.9 l/h m2 [24]. This low value of ow rate suggests that the system could be used in a thermosyphon mode. For simulation of the thermosyphon system, the TRNSYS Type 45 model is used. The thermal
performance of the system is analyzed by dividing the thermosyphon loop into a number of segments normal
to the ow direction and applying Bernoullis equation for incompressible ow to each segment. The ow rate
is obtained by numerical solution of the resulting set of equations. Flow in the loop is assumed to be steady
state.
For the active system, the units are modeled by combining a number of components as shown in Fig. 3,
which shows the ow diagram of the large hot water application.
In all the deck les required to run the TRNSYS models for the various applications, all equations shown in
Section 2 are incorporated, and whenever possible, outputs from ready made modules were used directly. For
example, the mass ow rate (for the thermosyphon system) and collector inlet and outlet temperatures are
obtained in this way and used in the appropriate equations.
All systems are simulated on an annual basis at three dierent locations at dierent latitudes, Nicosia,
Cyprus (35); Athens, Greece (38) and Madison, Wisconsin (43). The rst two locations represent locations

TYPE 16
SOLAR
RADIATION
PROCESSOR

TYPE 9
DATA
READER

TMY
file

Ambient temperature

Solar
radiation

EQUATIONS
(for the PV
system)

Control signal flow

TYPE 14
Mains water
temperature

Raw data input

TYPE 6
AUXIL IARY
HEATER

TYPE 11
TEE PIECE

TYPE 11
DIVERTER

Tout

EQUATIONS
(for the TPV-T)
Tin

TYPE 31
PIPING

TYPE 2
COLLECTOR
CONTROL

LEGEND:
Information flow

TYPE 1
SOLAR
COLLECTOR

TYPE 31
PIPING

TYPE 3
COLLECTOR
PUMP

TYPE 4
HOT
WATER
STORAGE
TYPE 15
RELIEF
VALVE

TYPE 3
LOAD
PUMP

TYPE 14
Hot water
load

Fig. 3. Information ow diagram for the large hot water system application.

S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

3375

Hot water consumption

(l)

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

10

12 14
Hours

16

18

20

22

24

Fig. 4. Hot water daily consumption prole.

with hot summer weather and mild winters, whereas the latter represents a location with mild summer and
severe winter and was considered to nd the dierence in system performance for comparison purposes.
For each of these three locations, a typical meteorological year (TMY) le, which is required in the simulations, is available.
With respect to the water consumption and although the hot water demand is subject to a high degree of
variation from day to day and from consumer to consumer, it is impractical to use anything but a repetitive
load prole. This is not quite correct during the summer period where the consumption pattern is somewhat
higher. However, during this period, the temperature requirement for hot water is not as high as during the
winter. Consequently, the total thermal energy requirement is reasonably constant throughout the year. For
the present simulation, the hot water consumption prole illustrated in Fig. 4 is used, which assumes a daily
hot water consumption of 120 l at 50 C for a family of four (30 l/person). For the large hot water application,
the consumption considered is 10-fold of that shown in Fig. 4 (10 families of four persons each).
5. Results
The annual results obtained for the thermosyphon unit are shown in Table 4. As can be seen, the PV/T
systems achieve an increase of the total energy output because hybrid systems utilise the thermal energy,
whereas in a standard PV system, this is lost to the ambient. However, the electrical energy output of a hybrid
system is lower than that of standard PV modules (maximum 38%) due to operation of the PV modules at
higher temperatures. The reduced electrical performance is also due to the additional glazing, which increases
the thermal output and the optical losses. Generally, depending on the location, this system can give 222
532 kW h electrical energy, and the solar contribution varies from 29% to 72%. The solar contribution determines the percentage of the hot water load covered by solar energy.
The pc-Si PV modules give higher total energy output compared to a-Si PV modules. However, the a-Si
gives more thermal useful energy and, thus, a higher solar contribution in water heating. In cold climates

Table 4
Annual performance of the hybrid PV/T thermosyphon system
Location

Cell type

Qu (MJ)

Qaux (MJ)

Solar
fraction

PV/T electrical
energy (kW h)

PV electrical
energy (kW h)

Electrical
energy % dierence

Nicosia

pc-Si
a-Si

5741
6083

1736
1516

68.6
72.6

532.1
257.6

843.2
353.6

63.1
72.9

Athens

pc-Si
a-Si

5047
5370

2410
2208

56.4
60.1

515.1
249.1

827.1
343.4

62.3
72.5

Madison

pc-Si
a-Si

3807
4151

3910
3643

29.3
34.1

499.0
222.7

774.4
305.2

64.4
72.9

Notes: (1) Qu = useful thermal energy. (2) Qaux = auxiliary thermal energy required to cover hot water load. (3) Electrical energy is
estimated by considering an 85% eciency for BoS.

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S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

and although the overall performance of the hybrid system is reduced due to the excessive cloudiness, the
comparative performance of the PV is better because of the operation at a lower environmental
temperature.
The annual results for the thermosyphon PV/T system are shown in Table 4 and the monthly performance
in Fig. 5. As can be seen, on a monthly basis, pc-Si cells produce more electrical energy (Pel) than the corresponding a-Si cells. This is due to the higher eciency of the pc-Si cells. The a-Si cells produce more thermal
useful energy (Qu) in all three locations considered. For Nicosia and Athens, both types of cells cover all thermal energy required for hot water production in the summer months as represented by the zero or near zero
auxiliary energy required (Qaux). For Madison, where the temperatures and available solar radiation are
lower, a substantial amount of thermal energy is covered in the summer, but some thermal auxiliary is still
required. All systems represent a substantial thermal energy collection and a good electrical performance
throughout the year.
It should be noted that although the model used for the thermosyphon unit cannot work with a heat
exchanger, in practice, a mantle-type tank and a water with antifreeze liquid needs to be used in locations
where freezing is a possibility, like in Madison, with a small reduction (about 15%) in the thermal performance
of the unit.
The annual results for the large active system are shown in Table 5 and the monthly performance in Fig. 6.
Much higher values of electrical energy are obtained for the large systems, in the order of 10-fold that of the
smaller systems. The solar contribution of the PV/T systems varies, depending on the location, between 60%
and 87%. Also, the percentage dierence between the electrical energy produced from the standard and the
hybrid units is smaller, in the order of 38%. This has been estimated by considering also the energy required

Qu-pc

Qaux-pc

Pel-pc

Qu-a

Qaux-a

Pel-a

700

Nicosia

Energy (MJ)

600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1

6
7
Months

10

11

12

10

11

12

10

11

12

700

Athens

Energy (MJ)

600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1

Months
700

Madison

Energy (MJ)

600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1

Months

Fig. 5. Monthly performance of small (thermosyphon) hybrid PV/T system.

S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

3377

Table 5
Annual performance of the large hybrid PV/T active system
Location

Cell type

Qu (MJ)

Nicosia

pc-Si
a-Si

52,310
54,540

Athens

pc-Si
a-Si

Madison

pc-Si
a-Si

Qaux (MJ)

f (%)

PV/T electrical
energy (kW h)

PV electrical
energy (kW h)

Pump
energy (kW h)

Electrical energy
% dierence

8785
7163

84.1
87.1

5640.1
2611.4

8431.5
3539.3

379.8
384.5

62.4
62.9

46,480
48,970

14,470
13,020

73.8
76.5

5502.3
2531.1

8271.0
3435.4

369.8
376.8

62.1
62.7

37,810
40,780

21,760
19,640

60.7
64.5

5350.3
2265.5

7744.4
3048.2

284.8
294.0

65.4
64.7

Notes: (1) Qu = useful thermal energy. (2) Qaux = auxiliary thermal energy required to cover hot water load. (3) f = solar fraction, denotes
percentage of hot water load covered by solar. (4) Electrical energy is estimated by considering an 85% eciency for BoS and pump energy.

Qu-pc

Qaux-pc

Pel-pc

Qu-a

Qaux-a

Pel-a

6000

Nicosia

Energy (MJ)

5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1

6
7
Months

10

11

6
7
Months

10

11

6
7
Months

10

11

12

6000

Athens

Energy (MJ)

5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1

12

6000

Madison

Energy (MJ)

5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1

12

Fig. 6. Monthly performance of large hybrid PV/T active system.

by the solar pump. As the other comments about the comparison between the various systems are similar to
the ones made for the smaller system, they will not be repeated again.
A general comment on the monthly performance of the systems indicated in Fig. 6 is that the useful thermal
energy (Qu) of the amorphous cells is slightly higher than the corresponding value of the polycrystalline cells
by an equal amount in each month, which is also reected in the auxiliary thermal energy required to cover the
hot water load. However, the electrical energy produced by the polycrystalline cells is much higher than that of
the amorphous ones due to their higher electrical eciency.

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S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

6. Economic analysis
The viability of all the above systems depends on the initial cost and the amount of energy, electrical or
electrical plus thermal, depending on the type of system they replace. A life cycle analysis is performed in order
to obtain the total cost (or life cycle cost) and the life cycle savings (LCS) of the systems. The economic scenario used in this project is that 100% of the initial cost of the solar system is paid at the beginning, i.e., there is
no mortgage payment. The period of economic analysis is taken as 20 years (life of the system). Although early
PV installations showed that the life of the PVs is more than 30 years, the 20 years period applied in solar
thermal systems is retained. The economic analysis can be performed either within the TRNSYS environment
or in a spreadsheet program. For the present work, the spreadsheet application is used. A detailed description
of the method of economic analysis of solar systems using spreadsheets is given in Ref. [28].
In general, the present worth (or discounted cost) of an investment or cost C at the end of year N at a discount rate of d and interest rate of i is obtained by:
N 1

PWN

C1 i
N
1 d

In the case of this project, the various costs and savings are estimated annually. From the addition of electricity and fuel savings incurred because of the use of the system and the tax savings, the maintenance and parasitic costs are subtracted, and thus, the annual solar savings of the system are estimated, which are converted
into present worth values of the system. These are added to obtain the life cycle savings according to the
equation:
PWLCS

N
X
Solar Savings
1 dN
N 1

For the thermal part of the system, the fuel savings are obtained by subtracting the annual cost of the conventional fuel used for the auxiliary energy from the fuel needs of a fuel only system. The integrated cost
of the auxiliary energy use for the rst year, i.e., solar back up, is given by the formula:
Z t
C FA Qaux dt
10
C aux
0

The integrated cost of the total load for the rst year, i.e., cost of conventional fuel without solar, is:
Z t
C load
C FL Qload dt

11

where CFA and CFL are the cost rates for auxiliary energy and conventional fuel, respectively. In case the same
fuel is used for both, CFA = CFL.
The investment cost of the solar systems is estimated by considering the current costs of the various parts of
the systems (PV module, heat extraction unit, inverter, pipes, pump, cables, etc.). These are tabulated in Table
6 together with explanations on how the costs of the various systems are estimated. As can be seen, the specic
costs for the larger systems are slightly lower due to economy of scale. For example, for the larger system, one
slightly larger inverter is used, which is slightly more expensive than the one used in the smaller systems. It
should be noted that the cost of the hybrid PV/T systems includes also the costs for modication of the
PV systems into the hybrid ones and all other equipment such as piping, pump, dierential thermostat and
insulation required to complete the system. It does not include the cost of the storage tank, which is present
in an installation irrespective of whether this is solar or not. Thus, in the economic analysis, a comparison is
made of the extra equipment required by the solar system against the money saved because of the amount of
electricity and fuel replaced by solar energy. As subsidization schemes for PV systems vary from country to
country and as the economic analysis is performed mainly in order to compare the standard and hybrid systems, no subsidies are considered in the present analysis.

S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

3379

Table 6
Specic costs of the systems considered
System description

PV panel

Cost ()

Explanation of costs

Thermosyphon system (4 m2)

Thermal system (per m2)
Small PV system (4 m2)
Small PV system (4 m2)
Large PV system (40 m2)
Large PV system (40 m2)
Thermosyphon PV/T system (4 m2)
Thermosyphon PV/T system (4 m2)
Large PV/T system (40 m2)
Large PV/T system (40 m2)

pc-Si
a-Si
pc-Si
a-Si
pc-Si
a-Si
pc-Si
a-Si

900
250
3200
2000
28,000
16,000
4100
2900
38,000
26,000

1200 for complete system 300 for storage tank

Includes collectors, piping, insulation and supports
Current market price which includes cost for BoS
Current market price which includes cost for BoS
Current market price which includes cost for BoS
Current market price which includes cost for BoS
4 800 for PV + 900 for solar thermal system
4 500 for PV + 900 for solar thermal system
40 700 for PV + 40 250 for solar thermal system
40 400 for PV + 40 250 for solar thermal system

Note: Storage tank is assumed to be present in a conventional hot water system, thus it is not considered as cost in the present analysis, i.e.,
only the cost of extra equipment is considered.

For the operating cost, maintenance and parasitic costs are considered. The former are estimated to be 1%
of the initial investment and are assumed to increase at a rate of 1% per year of the system operation. The
latter accounts for the energy required (electricity) to drive the solar pump. Thus, the total annual cost is given
by the addition of the system and operation costs. The cost of electricity is considered as 0.1/kW h, and the
cost of Diesel is 0.62/l. The market discount rate and the general ination rate considered in this study are
equal to 6.5% and 5.2%, respectively. Finally, the ination rate for the fuel used is equal to 10% to reect the
latest dramatic increases in oil price.
The results of the economic analysis are shown in Table 7 for the small system and Table 8 for the large
system. What is of interest here is mainly the comparison between the savings in electricity and thermal energy
and the LCS of the various types of systems.
As can be seen in all the cases of the PV systems, the LCS obtained are negative, meaning that the payback
time is greater than 20 years, which is considered as the life of the systems. It should be noted that no subsidies
are considered in this study and the negative amounts of money represent the money that the owner will loose
by installing the PV system instead of buying the electricity from the mains. These negative gures show the
need for subsidies in order to convince people to install such systems. It should be noted that the LCS strongly
depends on the rst year fuel savings (FYFS) and the solar system cost. The electrical FYFS (FYFS-e) depend
on the electrical energy produced by the PVs. In hybrid systems, the thermal FYFS (FYFS-t) depend on the
thermal load in each case and the auxiliary energy required. Better gures are obtained in the case of hybrid
systems, as the LCS are smaller negative values, and in some cases, positive values are obtained. All cases that
give positive LCS refer to the use of a-Si cells, and these are the applications for Nicosia. Generally, for locations with higher available solar radiation, like Nicosia and Athens, the economics give better gures. Also,
although amorphous silicon panels are much less ecient than the polycrystalline ones, they give better gures
Table 7
Results of the economic analysis of the small system
System type (Location)

Cell
type

Standard PV cells
FYFS-e electricity

LCS

FYFS-e
electricity

Hybrid PV/T cells

FYFS-t
fuel

LCS

FYFS-t
electricity

Thermosyphon (Nicosia)

pc-Si
a-Si

84.3
35.3

1070.0
1118.3

53.2
25.8

71.3
75.5

1105.0
513.3

105.3
111.5

223.3
421.7

Thermosyphon (Athens)

pc-Si
a-Si

82.7
34.3

1111.7
1145.0

51.5
25.0

58.7
62.3

1476.7
876.7

86.7
92.3

750.0
96.7

Thermosyphon (Madison)

pc-Si
a-Si

77.5
30.5

1248.3
1245.0

49.8
22.3

30.3
35.5

2260.0
1643.3

45.0
52.5

1880.0
1201.7

LCS

Notes: (1) All values in Euros. (2) FYFS = rst year fuel savings. (3) LCS = life cycle savings. (4) FYFS-e = electricity replaced by solar
during rst year. (5) FYFS-t = thermal energy replaced by solar during rst year when backup is fuel (Diesel) or electricity.

3380

S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

Table 8
Results of the economic analysis of the large system
Location

Cell type

Standard PV cells

Hybrid PV/T cells

FYFS-e electricity

LCS

FYFS-e electricity

FYFS-t fuel

LCS

Nicosia

pc-Si
a-Si

843.2
354.0

6623.3
7106.7

526.0
222.7

874.0
904.5

2346.7
2791.7

Athens

pc-Si
a-Si

827.2
343.5

7041.7
7376.7

513.3
215.5

767.3
794.5

5450.0
253.3

Madison

pc-Si
a-Si

774.5
304.8

8408.3
8383.3

506.5
197.2

630.2
670.2

9186.7
3958.3

Notes: (1) All values in Euros. (2) FYFS = rst year fuel savings. (3) LCS = life cycle savings. (4) FYFS-e = electricity replaced by solar
during rst year. (5) FYFS-t = thermal energy replaced by solar in rst year when backup is fuel (Diesel). (6) All systems are active.

due to their lower initial cost, i.e., they have better cost/benet ratios, as has also been observed by other
authors [16].
For the case of the small system, both Diesel and electricity are used as a backup auxiliary for the thermal
energy. This is to account for houses that produce hot water with Diesel through the central heating system
and those that use electric immersion heaters. As the unit cost of electricity is higher that that of fuel, in the
case where an electric immersion heater is used, the solar energy replaces a more expensive fuel, and thus, a
higher LCS is obtained.
The modeled energy output results of the considered PV/T systems are generally in agreement with the
results that are presented by other authors. In the literature on PV/T solar systems however, no monthly
or annual results for these systems are given. A recent publication considers 4 m2 c-Si and a-Si PV/T systems
with glazing and 300 l water storage tank. The systems are studied with TRNSYS [16], but only a few annual
results are given, showing that the eective application of the two cell types depends on the electrical to thermal energy value ratio. Regarding the benets of commercial PV/T solar water heaters [19], it is estimated
that, in the case of cost reduction by mass production and considering that the produced heat replaces electricity, the system becomes cost eective for practical applications.
Taking into account these aspects, an example is given by considering a subsidy of 55% on the initial cost of
the PV system, which is presently applied in the case of Cyprus as an incentive to promote PV systems installation. The LCS for the polycrystalline silicon panels increase to 723 for the standard PV system, to 852 for
the hybrid PV/T thermosyphon system with Diesel backup of the thermal energy and to 1733 for the hybrid
PV/T thermosyphon system with electricity backup. It should be noted that in the case of the hybrid systems,
the subsidy is considered only on the PV part of the system. In Cyprus, another incentive is given, namely that
for grid connected systems, the electrical energy is bought by the Electricity Authority at double the normal
selling rate. If this is considered, then the LCS increases to 2913 for the standard polycrystalline silicon panels, to 2233 for the hybrid PV/T thermosyphon system with Diesel backup of the thermal energy and to 3117

45

PV

PV/T

Payback time (years)

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Nic-p Nic-a Ath-p Ath-a Mad-p Mad-a Nic-p Nic-a Ath-p Ath-a Mad-p Mad-a

Fig. 7. Payback times of plain PV and thermosyphon PV/T systems with polycrystalline (p) and amorphous (a) silicon cells for the three
locations (electricity backup).

S.A. Kalogirou, Y. Tripanagnostopoulos / Energy Conversion and Management 47 (2006) 33683382

3381

45

Payback time (years)

40

PV

PV/T

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Nic-p Nic-a Ath-p Ath-a Mad-p Mad-a Nic-p Nic-a Ath-p Ath-a Mad-p Mad-a

Fig. 8. Payback times of plain PV and active PV/T systems with polycrystalline (p) and amorphous (a) silicon cells for the three locations
(Diesel backup).

for the hybrid PV/T thermosyphon system with electricity backup. Therefore, it can be concluded that subsidies are a must for the introduction of both standard PV and hybrid PV/T systems.
Finally, in Figs. 7 and 8, the payback times in years of the systems studied are shown. In these gures, the
advantage of the hybrid PV/T systems is shown, as much shorter times are indicated. Also, by comparing the
polycrystalline and the amorphous silicon cells, the latter are slightly better for the hybrid type as they have
better cost/benet ratios, as outlined above.
7. Conclusion
Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems consisting of pc-Si and a-Si PV modules combined with water
heat extraction units, which were constructed and tested at the University of Patras are modeled and simulated
with the TRNSYS program. The work includes the study of two PV/T systems, a small scale unit of 4 m2 aperture area and 160 l water storage tank and a large scale system of 40 m2 aperture area and 1500 l storage tank.
The results show that the electrical production of the system employing polycrystalline solar cells is more
than that employing the amorphous ones, but the solar thermal contribution is slightly lower. A non-hybrid
PV system produces about 38% more electrical energy, but the present system covers also, depending on the
location, a large percentage of the hot water needs of the buildings considered. The derived TRNSYS results
give an account of the energy and cost benets of the studied PV/T systems with thermosyphon and forced
water ow.
As a general conclusion, it can be said that as the overall energy production of the units is increased, the
hybrid units have better chances of success. This is also strengthened by the improvement of the economic
viability of the systems, especially in applications where low temperature water, like hot water production
for domestic use, is also required.
Additionally, the economics of the systems considered show that for locations with higher available solar
radiation, like Nicosia and Athens, the economics give better gures. Also, although amorphous silicon panels
are much less ecient than the polycrystalline ones, they give better gures due to their lower initial cost, i.e.,
they have better cost/benet ratios. Considering the case of Cyprus, a considerable increase in LCS can be
obtained when subsidies are considered, indicating the need of state subsides in order to promote the installation of these systems. The same order of subsidies needs to be given for the hybrid systems as well.
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