• KIEAE Journal
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.69-73
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• 2011

In general, there are two types of PVT module depending on the existence of the glass in front of PV module: glazed and unglazed. On the other hand, the water-type PVT modules can be classified into two types, according to absorber type: the sheet-and-tube absorber PVT module and the fully wetted absorber PVT module. The aim of this study is to analyze the electrical and thermal performance of a water-type PVT module with fully wetted absorber. For this study, a prototype of unglazed PVT module with fully wetted absorber was designed and built, and both the thermal and electrical performances of the prototype module were measured in outdoor conditions. A conventional mono-crystalline Si PV module was tested alongside the PVT module for their electrical performance comparison. The results showed that the thermal efficiency of the PVT module was average 51% and its electrical efficiency was average 14.3% in mean fluid temperature $10-40^{\circ}C$, whereas the electrical efficiency of the conventional PV module was average 12.6%. It is found that the electrical efficiency of the PVT module was improved by approximately 14% compared to that of the PV module. The temperature of PVT module becomes lower due to the cooling effect by the fluid of the absorber. The results proved that the electrical efficiency was higher when the mean fluid temperature was lower.