A Review: Emphasizing the Nanofluids Use in PV/T Systems

Abstract

Certainly, photovoltaics (PV) is regarded as one of the most reliable and competitive energy production alternatives due to a massive decline in prices. Coming years are expected to witness PV systems leading the renewable electricity capacity growth by surpassing 550 GW. However, the efficiency of the enormous number of PV modules being produced and installed remains poor due to overheating. PV systems that are cooled using liquid coolants, popularly known as photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) is a promising solution, but the inherent thermal conductivity of the conventional coolants being used makes it less attractive. Besides the evolution of next-generation PV modules and efficient designs, a breakthrough was made when nanoparticles successfully dispersed in coolants that led to better heat transfer and energy conversion. In recent years, hybrid nanoparticle-based fluids have helped augment heat transfer through PV panels. In this review, we discussed the evolution of PV/T system; difficulties faced in improving thermal and electrical production, and explain how the design modifications and hybrid nanofluids contribute in enhancing the system performance. In terms of the PV/T efficiency, we specifically highlight the role of hybrid nanofluids and the struggles arise from design to operation through 10 big questions and some possible solutions are also suggested to overcome those issues.

Keywords

• Solar thermal
• hybrid nanofluids
• channel flow patterns
• channel geometry
• heat transfer
• thermal conductivity