Experimental Validation of a Dynamic Photovoltaic/Thermal Collector Model in Combination with a Thermal Energy Storage Tank

Abstract

The primary objective of this paper is to present a dynamic photovoltaic/thermal collector model in combination with a thermal energy storage tank. The added value of the proposed model is the use and integration of existing dynamic models for describing the entire photovoltaic/thermal system. The presented model was validated using measurements on the experimental system located at the Institute of Energy Technology, Faculty of Energy Technology, University of Maribor. The validation was carried out based on three different weather conditions—sunny, cloudy, and overcast. The validation results were evaluated using the normalized root mean square error and mean absolute percentage error for the temperature and output power of the photovoltaic/thermal collector and the temperature of the thermal energy storage tank. The model results concurred with the measurements, as the average mean absolute percentage error values for the temperature and output power of the photovoltaic/thermal collector and thermal energy storage tank temperature were 5.82%, 1.51%, and 7.58% respectively.

Keywords

• photovoltaic/thermal collector
• thermal energy storage tank
• dynamic modeling
• temperature distribution
• output power