WasteHeatRecoveryStudyofSpiralFlow

HeatExchangerUsedinHybridSolarSystem
withReflectors
V.N.Palaskar*1,S.P.Deshmukh2
*1DepartmentofMechanicalEngineering,2DepartmentofGeneralEngineering
*1

VeermataJijabaiTechnologicalInstituteMumbaiIndia,2InstituteofChemicalTechnologyMumbaiIndia

*1

Email:vnpalskar@vjti.org.in,2Email:sp.deshmukh@ictmumbai.edu.in

Abstract
Thecombinedefficiencyofsimplehybridphotovoltaic/thermal(PV/T)solarwatersystemislessduetoitslowconcentration
ratios and, nonstandardization of PV heat exchanger surfaces. The simple and cost effective technique to increase PV/T
efficiency is the use of reflectors which will boost solar radiation on PV module surface. Flat reflectors fitted to sides of PV
module of hybrid system helps in improving the concentration of solar radiation on it. This paper provides design and
performance analysis of spiral flow heat exchanger used in hybrid system with flat reflectors of aluminum sheets. The
experimentalresultslikeperformanceefficienciesofphotovoltaic,thermal,andcombinedphotovoltaic/thermalsystemovera
range of actual working conditions are discussed and evaluated for latitude of Mumbai. The results at solar radiation of 950
W/m2 and water mass flow rate of 0.042 kg/sec through heat exchanger with reflectors showed combined PV/T efficiency of
71.40%withPVefficiencyof12.40%.
Keywords
LowConcentrationRatio;CombinedPV/TEfficiency;FlatReflectors;SpiralFlowHeatExchanger;ActualWorkingConditions

Introduction
Solar photovoltaic (SPV) module absorbs solar radiation generating electricity while its temperature increases
duringtheservice.Coolingofmoduleimprovesgenerationofelectricalpower,efficiencyanditsoperationallife.In
general, module is cooled by supplying cold water through heat exchanger attached at bottom side of simple
module. This heat exchanger is called as PV absorber surface that absorbs heat from module, cooling it at
reasonable temperature. In hybrid PV/T solar system, simple PV module and thermal solar collector unit are
mounted together to facilitate simultaneous conversion of solar radiation to electrical and thermal energy from
singleintegratedunit.Thisconversionhasshowedthat,hybridsolarsystemgenerateshighercombinedenergyper
square meter area of module, and could improve cost effectiveness of simple PV modules if the cost of thermal
elementiskeptlow.Inthepresentscenario,materialscostofphotovoltaiccellconstitutes50%to60%oftotalcost
ofcommercialPVmodule(SolankiC.S.2010).Asaresultoftechnologicaldevelopmentsandmarketcompetition,
PVmodulepriceshavestarteddecliningsincethelastfewyears(SolankiC.S.2010).Currently,thecostofmono
crystallinePVmoduleisashighasUSdollarof1.12/wattto1.70/watt.Significantmeasuresarerequiredtoreduce
thecostofPVpower,forthewidespreadcommercializationofPVtechnology,byreducingcellmaterial.Various
techniques suchasuse of thinner wafer, thinfilm solar cell technologies,and concentrator techniques have been
incorporated by many modulemanufacturing companies to reduce the overall price of commercial modules. As
per information obtained from manufacturing companies, these techniques are found useful to reduce PV cell
materialconsumptionperwattofgeneratedoutputpower.Intheconcentratortechnology,opticalreflectorscould
replaceexpensivePVcellareabytheuseofcheaperreflectormaterialssuchasglassmirror,aluminumsheetsor
foils, andacrylic mirrorsheets. Implementing these techniques, performance of simple module will be enhanced
duetomoresolarradiationstrikingmodulesurfaceduringdaytimewhenthesystemgeneratestheelectricaland
thermalpower.Theideatousesolarconcentratorwithmodulesissimple,butitisdifficulttoachievehighlevelof
6InternationalJournalofEnergyScience,Vol.5No.1September2015
2218602615/0100611,2015DEStechPublications,Inc.
doi:10.12783/ijes.2015.0501.02

WasteHeatRecoveryStudyofSpiralFlowHeatExchangerUsedinHybridSolarSystemwithReflectors7

concentration ratio using this technology throughout the day. The high concentration ratio puts stringent
constraints on solar cells heat dissipation capacity during its service life. However, it is possible to use low
concentrationopticswithmodulesinstaticmodetoeliminatecontinuousmoduletracking.Basedonthisidea,flat
reflectors are found attractive to reduce price of solar photovoltaic output power. Flat reflectors are static
concentrators,wheresolarintensityhasbeenenhancedbyaddingreflectorstomodulesides.
Different formulas were derived and applied analytically to calculate geometrical concentration ratios and
irradiancedistributionatthebaseofflatsidedlineartroughconfiguration(BurkhardDonaldGetal.,1978).Inthis
study,therealisticconcentrationratioswereobtainedinarangeof1.5to4dependingongeometryandcoefficient
ofreflection.Lowconcentrationsolarenergyconfigurationswereinvestigatedandstudiedtodetermineitseffect
on photovoltaic electrical output (Tripanagnostopoulos Y, 2002). During this work, it was found that the flat
diffusereflectorsprovidedauniformdistributionofsolarradiationonPVmodulesurfaceandthelinearFresnel
lenseswereusedtoachieveadditionalsolarcontrolforinteriorspaces.Thecompoundparaboliccollector(CPC)
withreflectorswaseffectivelycombinedwithPVstripstoactasflatsolarthermalabsorbers.Theabsorbedsolar
radiationincreasedthecelltemperaturewithreducedPVefficiency.Severalmodeswereappliedforefficientand
cost effective heat extraction and the most appropriate one was selected according to required application.
Tripanagnostopoulos et al. (2003) conducted experiments using hybrid PV/T systems, with and without glazing,
and,withandwithoutreflectors,operatingatsystemtemperaturesof25 0C,35 0C,and45 0Crespectively.Inthe
experiments it was found that system with glazing and flat reflectors operating at 25 0C system temperature,
generatedhighestannualelectricalenergy(167.98kWh/m2y)withelectricalefficiencyof10.21%,and,maximum
annualthermalenergy(831.75kWh/m2y)withthermalefficiencyof50.57%.Anauxiliarymirrordrivemechanism
wasdesignedanddevelopedtotracksuncontinuouslyandreflectsolarradiationonstationaryPVarraystostudy
itseffectonelectricalpoweroutput(Kulkarnietal.,2007).Thismechanismconsistedoffivebarsphericallinkage
usedforsolartracking,andtwodegreesoffreedommechanismwasusedforsuntrackingalongitsazimuthand
altitudedirection.TheseexperimentsshowsthatoutputpowerofthePVpanelincreasedby22%byfittingtracking
mechanismtoPVarrays.VtroughshapeconcentratorsweredesignedandfabricatedtoevaluatethePVelectricity
cost ($/W) reduction as compared with onesun concentration PV module for latitude of Mumbai (Sangani and
Solanki, 2007). Vtrough concentrator system with twosun concentration was able to generate 44% more output
powerascomparedwithonesunconcentrationfornaturallycooledPVmodules.Thecost/unitwattofelectricity
generated from PV module was reduced by 24% from 7.72 to 5.88 $/W by using Vtrough concentrators as
comparedwithonesunconcentrationPVmodule.Kosticetal.(2008)havecarriedoutinvestigationalstudiesusing
sheetandtubetypeheatexchangerasahybridsystemfittedwithflataluminumconcentrators.Itwasconcluded
thatwithaluminumsheetconcentrator,theelectricalandthermalenergyproducedwas8.6%and39%morethan
simple PV module, and aluminum foil concentrators produced 17.1% and 55% more PV energy and thermal
energy respectively compared with PV module. Othman et al. (2008) designed and studied seven types of PV
absorber, i.e., direct flow, oscillatory flow, serpentine flow, web flow, spiral flow, parallelserpentine flow, and
modified serpentineparallel flow. Performances of these systems were studied using simulation methods. The
spiral flow heat exchanger of the above systems produced highest thermal efficiency of 50.12%; and PV module
efficiency of 12.8% compared with other types of PV absorber surfaces. Reflectors of different materials were
designedandfittedtosidesofsimplePVmoduletoinvestigatetheperformanceofmodulefordifferentreflector
materials,andthebestreflectorwhichcouldgeneratehighestelectricalpower(DjilaliRizkandNagrialMH,2009)
wasselectedforthestudies.Experimentswereperformedonaluminum;stainlesssteel,andchromefilmreflectors
todeterminemoreefficienttypeofreflectorproducinghighestPVpowerandlessamountofexcessheat.Finallyit
was observed that, chrome reflectors produced 27.65% additional PV power output against aluminum foil and
34.05% more PV power output against stainless steel reflectors respectively. Overall performance of simple PV
modulewasalsofoundtobeimprovedwhenitwascooledbypassingwateroveritstopsurface(Hosseini,etal.,
2011).ThistestshowsthattheoperatingtemperatureofaPVmoduleinacombinedsystemwaslowerthanthatin
aconventionalmodule.AstheheatofPVmoduleisabsorbedbythewaterfilmandutilizedforlowtemperature
applications, the overall efficiency of combined system was found to be higher than conventional module. The
experimentalresultsshowedthatelectricalperformanceofthecombinedsystemwas33%higherthanconventional

8V.N.PALASKAR,S.P.DESHMUKH

module. Three PV/T water collectors, namely direct flow, parallel flow and split flow were designed and their
thermalperformanceswereexperimentallycomparedforvarioustiltsofhybridPV/TsystembyKamaruzzaman,
etal.(2011).Inthisstudy,itwasfoundthatsplitflowPV/Tsystemproduced51.4%thermalpowercomparedwith
thatof50.8%and50.6%byothertwocollectorsrespectively.Theperformanceevaluationofahybridphotovoltaic
thermaldoublepassfacadeforspaceheatingwasdevelopedbyusingtheenergybalanceequationsfortheclimate
of New Delhi (Tiwari G N et al. 2011). In this study, from numerical results, it was observed that the annual
thermalandelectricalenergygeneratedbythefaadesystemwere480.81kWhand469.87kWhrespectively.Itwas
alsoobservedthatthermalenergygeneratedbythesystemwascalculatedas1729.84kWhonyearlybasis.Palaskar
and Deshmukh (2012, 2013b) reviewed the literature on research, development and selection of various PV
absorberdesigns,materials,anduseofconcentratorsforhigherenergyoutputofhybridsolarsystems.Thereview
showed that the overall system performance of hybrid system could be improved by applying the above
mentioned augmentation techniques. It was also found that the spiral flow heat exchanger made of copper and
fitted with reflectors had higher combined PV/T efficiency than simple hybrid systems. This system will have
better commercial viability in future than other systems. Experimental study was performed on specially design
heatexchangerusedinhybridPV/TwatersystemtopredictitsperformanceforlatitudeofMumbai(Palaskaretal.,
2013a).Theresultsofthishybridsystematsolarradiationof918W/m2andcoolingwatermassflowrateof0.035
kg/sec showed the combined PV/Tefficiency of53.7% with PVefficiency of11.7 %. Experiments on this system
showedthattheoperatingtemperatureofcooledmodulewasdecreasedby27%byfittingtheheatexchangerto
thebottomofthePVmodule.Apairofaluminumflatreflectorwasdesigned,andattachedtosidesofsimplePV
module to study its effect on performance of PV module for latitude of Mumbai (Palaskar and Deshmukh,
2014).The modified PV module at 250 tilt at south direction and 240 reflector orientations with vertical surface of
modulecouldgeneratemorePVpowerandefficiencyof22%and21%respectivelyascomparedwithsimplePV
module.TheperformanceratioofmodifiedPVmodulewasenhancedby17%.
In this study, performance analysis of cooled PV module and hybrid PV/T solar system with reflectors are
compared with various technical parameters for latitude of Mumbai. Commercial PV module is converted to
hybrid PV/Tsystem byfixingspiralflow heat exchangerat bottom side ofPV module. This heat exchanger was
designed and fabricated using copper square tubes. Copper tubes were used for this study for its high thermal
conductivityandeaseoffabrication.Apairofaluminumreflectorwasdesigned,andfittedtotheshortersidesof
module of hybrid solar system. In this study, it was observed that there was considerable increase in solar
radiation collection on surface of module. Increase in photovoltaic power, thermal power, photovoltaic, thermal,
andcombinedPV/Tefficiencyanddecreaseintopandbottomsidemoduletemperaturesatdifferentflowratesfor
highestPVpowerpointconditionarediscussedandanalyzedinthiswork.
Nomenclature and Greek Symbols
Aref
APV
ATC
Cp
FCR
I
Ib
Id
Ig
Iref
IT
It
ITref

PV/T

Areaofanyonereflectorattachedtomodule(m2)
AreaofPVmodule(m2)
ActualTestConditionsofcommercialPVmodule
Specificheatofwater(J/kg0K)
TheViewfactor
CurrentproducebyPVmodule(A)
Beamradiationmeasuredbypyranometeronhorizontalsurface(W/m2)
Diffuseradiationmeasuredbypyranometeronhorizontalsurface(W/m2)
Globalradiationmeasuredbypyranometeronhorizontalsurface(W/m2)
SolarradiationreflectedfromonereflectedsurfaceonPVsurface(W/m2)
DirectsolarradiationonPVmodulesurface(W)
GlobalradiationcalculatedonnormaltoPVmodulesurface(W/m2)
Totalradiationonmodulesurfacebyconsideringdirectplusreflectedradiation(W)
Massflowrateofwater(kg/sec)
CombinedPV/Tefficiency(%)

WasteHeatRecoveryStudyofSpiralFlowHeatExchangerUsedinHybridSolarSystemwithReflectors9

T
PPV
PR
PSTC
PT
rb
rd
rg
STC
Twi
Twe
V

PV

Thermalefficiencyofhybrid(PV/T)solarwatersystem(%)
ElectricalpowerproducedbyPVmodule(W)atATCconditions
PerformanceratioofPVmodule(%)
ElectricalpowerproducedbyPVmodule(W)atSTCconditions
Thermalpowerproducedbyhybrid(PV/T)solarwatersystem(W)
Tiltfactorforbeamradiation
Tiltfactorfordiffuseradiation
Tiltfactorforglobalradiation
StandardTestConditionsofcommercialPVmodule
Waterinlettemperature(0K)
Wateroutlettemperature(0K)
VoltageproducebyPVmodule(V)
Elevationangle(0)
SlopeofPVmoduleatsouthdirection(0)
Declinationangle(0)
ElectricalEfficiencyofPVmodule(%)
Reflectivityofreflectors(%)
Thelatitudeangle(0)

Materials and Methods

CommercialPVModuleandHeatExchangerDesignwithItsFabrication
TataBpIndiamadecommercialPVmodulewithratedcapacityof180wattswasusedtoconductexperimentson
the simple and cooled module with flat reflectors. The rectangular module with its length and width of 1.587 m
and0.79mrespectivelywasusedforthiswork.OpencircuitvoltageandshortcircuitcurrentatSTCofthemodule
quotedbymanufacturerwere44.8voltsand5.40ampsrespectively.Aspertechnicalspecificationsofthemodule
atSTC,itsefficiencywasfoundat14.52%.
Detailed literature review and its analysis was carried out (Othman et al., 2008) and simulation based results of
squarespiralflowPVabsorbersurfacewereanalyzedwithexperimentalworkusingcopperasaheatexchanger
material.Thecoppersquaresectiontubeprovidesgoodsurfacecontactandhighthermalconductivitycompared
with other materials toabsorb heat from module cooling itat reasonable temperature. In present research work,
tubeswithdifferentconfigurationofwaterflowwerefittedasaheatexchangerfrombottomsideofmodule.To
achievehighestcombinedPV/Tefficiencyofhybridsystem,spiralflowPVabsorberarrangementwasusedwith
square hollow tubes. The manufacturing and assembly of copper spiral flow PV absorber surface was simple
comparedwithothertypesofflowsanditsmaterials.Withthedetaileddesignanditscalculations,heatexchanger
specifications are shown in table 1. The hydraulic test was conducted on heat exchanger using water pump to
locate and eliminate minute leakages in joints and passages of water flow, before it was finally assembled to
perform experimental work. This test helped to ensure proper circulation of water at certain pressure and flow
through the heat exchanger sealing the leakages of the heat exchanger. Actual installation of spiral flow PV
absorber surface on bottom side of PV module is shown in figure 1. Fiber Glass wool blanket with thermal
conductivityof0.04W/m0kwasusedtoinsulatethePVabsorbersurfaceforreducingtheoveralltemperatureloss
fromthebottomandsidesoftheheatexchanger.Blanketoffiberglasswoolwith50mmthicknessand24Kg/m3
densitywasfittedatthebottomoftheheatexchanger.Analuminumsheetof16gaugethicknesswasusedtocover
andprotecttheglasswooltoformacompleteassemblyofhybridPV/Tsolarsystem.
TABLE1HEATEXCHANGERCHARACTERISTICS

SizeofsquareCoppertube
Pitchbetweentwoconsecutivesquaretubes
Totallengthofheatexchanger
PVmodulebottomsideareaoccupiedbyheatexchanger

12x12x1.25mmthick
37mm
31.5mts.
32%

10V.N.PALASKAR,S.P.DESHMUKH

FIG.1INSTALLATIONOFSPIRALFLOWPVABSORBERSURFACEATBOTTOMSIDEOFMODULE

DesignandFabricationofAluminumFlatReflectors

FIG.2HYBRIDPV/TSOLARWATERSYSTEMTHATSHOWSALLMEASURINGINSTRUMENTSCONNECTEDEACHOTHERTOFORM
ASSEMBLY

Themaximumelectricalpoweroutputandgenerationefficiencyofanycommercialmodulenormallydependon
local climate, season of year, ambient temperature, wind velocity, latitude of location, tilt of module and solar
radiation. At actual test condition (ATC), the performance of module is strongly influenced by solar radiation
striking normal to its surface. The intensity of solar radiation varies constantly over a day. Its value is less in
morning and afternoon and maximum at solar noon. Due to fluctuation of solar radiation over a day, power
produced by module varies at different period of a day. Therefore, module generates power inconsistently as
comparedwithratedpowerspecifiedbymanufacturer.Differentmethodscanbeusedtoenhanceelectricalpower
ofcommercialmoduleasstatedinintroductionsection.Inthecurrentstudies,simpleandcosteffectivemethods
were used to increase concentration ratio of module by fitting flat reflectors to its shorter sides. An anodized
aluminumsheetof0.5mmthickness,availableinmarketwasusedforfabricationofflatreflectors.Thereflectivity
ofthesheetwasmeasuredbyusingAlbedometerandfoundtobe82%.Theamountofsolarradiationreflected
fromreflectorsonmodulesurfacewasstronglyinfluencedbyitsconcentrationratioand,reflectoranglenormalto
module surface. Due to improved concentration ratio, electrical power and efficiency of module were found
enhanceddrasticallyoveraday.Theconcentrationratioandreflectorslantheightwerecalculatedasperformulas
discussed in introduction section (Burkhard Donald G et al., 1978). Using these data, a pair of reflector was
fabricatedfromAluminumsheetwithitssizeequaltomoduledimensionsandfittedtoshortersidesofmoduleas
shown in figure 2. Experiments were conducted on modified PV module by changing orientations of reflectors

WasteHeatRecoveryStudyofSpiralFlowHeatExchangerUsedinHybridSolarSystemwithReflectors11

manually from 1000 to 1350 (900+450) normal to PV surface with an interval of 50 on distinct days (Palaskar and
Deshmukh,2014).Thiswasdonetodeterminetheoptimumorientationofreflectorsgeneratinghighestelectrical
powerandefficiency.Thehighestphotovoltaicpowerandefficiencywasabletobegeneratedat240orientationsof
reflectors normal to module surface. The modified PV module includes simple PV module with pair of reflector
andothermeasuringinstrumentsasshowninfigure2.
MeasuringInstrumentsandExperimentalObservations
Themeasuringinstrumentswithtechnicalspecificationsusedinthepresentexperimentalworkaregivenintable2.
Thecomplete;assembledexperimentalsetupwithallinstrumentsisshowninfigure2.
TABLE2MEASURINGINSTRUMENTSWITHSPECIFICATIONS

Nameofthe
measuring
instruments

Specifications

Temperaturedata
logger

Sensor:72elementthermopile.Spectralrange:
0.3to3meters.Timeconstant:<30seconds.
Range:01500W/m2Output:0to25milli
volts.
06000C
(LeafshapedTempsensorKtype
thermocouple)
16channelinputthermocouplewithRS485
port

DCvoltmeter

050V

DCammeter

06Ams

Pyranometer

Thermocouples

DCloadbank

180Watts

Rotameter

500LPH

Temperaturegauges

01200C

Functions

Tomeasureglobalanddiffuseradiationsonhorizontalsurface

Tomeasureambienttemperatureandtemperaturesonthetop
andrearsideofPVmoduleduringexperimentalprocess
Toscanandrecordthermocoupletemperaturesatspecified
timeinterval
Tomeasurevoltageatvariousloadingconditions
Tomeasurecurrentatvariousloadingconditions
TomeasurevoltageandcurrentacrossloadappliedtoPV
moduleduringexperiments
TomeasureflowrateofwaterattheinletofthespiralflowPV
absorbersurface
Tomeasurewatertemperatureattheinletandexitoftheheat
exchangerofhybridsystem

TheentireexperimentswereperformedduringmonthsofAprilMay2014.Experimentswereconductedonsimple
cooled module and cooled module with reflectors to determine and compare their overall performances with
systemoperatedfor7hoursperdaybetween9.30AMand4.30PM.Theslopeforbothconfigurationswasselected
and maintained 200 for all experimental days for latitude of Mumbai. Different experiments were performed on
distinctdaysforpeakPVpowerpointcondition.Entireexperimentalworkwasdividedintwopartsasexplained
infollowingparagraph.
In the preliminary stage of work, experiments were performed on simple cooled module or hybrid solar system
with spiral flow heat exchanger attached at bottom side of module as shown in figure 1. This was done to
determinedifferentperformanceparameterssuchaselectricalandthermalpowerandefficiencyofsimplecooled
module at actual test condition (ATC). During these tests, different observations such as global and diffuse
radiationsonhorizontalsurface,voltage,andcurrentatcorrespondingloadingconditionsatevery30minutestime
interval were recorded manually. Readings in terms of water flow rate, and inlet, and outlet water temperatures
flowing though heat exchanger at every 30 minutes of time interval were also collected manually. Ktype
temperaturesensorswithdataloggerwereusedtoscanandrecordtheambienttemperatureandthetemperatures
at top and bottom of the PV module automatically at an interval of one minute. During the second stage of
observations,trialswereconductedonheatexchangerusedinhybridsystemfittedwithapairofflatreflectorsto
shorter sides of module as shown in figure 2. At water flow rates for peak PV power point on distinct days,
different readings were recorded manually and automatically as per procedure explained in the first stage of
experimentalwork.
EquationsUsedtoCalculateTechnicalParameters
Different equations used to calculate photovoltaic power, thermal power, input solar power, performance ratio,

12V.N.PALASKAR,S.P.DESHMUKH

photovoltaic, thermal and combined PV/T efficiency for Mumbai latitude (Sukhatme and Nayak,2008; Solanki,
2011;DuffieandBeckman)areasgivenbelow.
PPV=VxI(1)
PT= xCPx(TweTwi)(2)
IT=ItxAPV(3)
It=Igxrg(4)
rg=sin(+)/sin(5)
=90+(6)
I2ref=2xIrefxAPV(7)
Iref={[Ibxrb+(1FCR)Id]xxArefxFCR}/APV(8)
ITref=IT+I2ref(9)
PV=PPV/ITref(10)
T=PT/ITref(11)
PV/T=PV+T(12)
PR=PPV/PSTC(13)
Results and Discussion
The cooling of module with spiral heat exchanger resulted in the increase of open circuit voltage (40 Volts) and
voltage (31.5 Volts) at highest PV power point of the module at 12.30 PM. With its cooling module, produced
photovoltaic power (146.3W), performance ratio (80 %), and efficiency (12.9%) as shown in figures 3 and 4
respectively.Figure4showslowPVefficienciesinthemorningandlateafternoonforbothuncooledandcooled
module with reflectors cases. This mainly happens due to decrease in angle of incidence of solar rays from
morning to noon and its increase to late afternoon. At solar noon sun rays strike normally to module surface
generatingpeakelectricalpowerandefficiencies.Byutilizingwasteheat,thehybridsolarsystemgenerated616W
of surplus thermal power at flow rate of 0.042 Kg/sec as shown in figure 5. As shown in figure 7, the system
workedwithcombinedPV/Tefficiencyof68.2%observedforthehybridsystem.Theforcecirculationsystemwas
in operation from 10 AM to 3 PM to supply tap water to hybrid system. This lead to enhancement in system
performancesandreductioninoperatingtemperaturefortheexperimentsconductedbetween10.30AMto3pm.
Thehybridsolarwatersystemwithspiralheatexchangerandflatreflectorsresultedintheincreaseinopencircuit
voltage(39.70Volts),voltage(34.78Volts)andcurrent(4.8A)athighestpowerpointofthemoduleat1PM.Dueto
this configurations, there was increase in module photovoltaic power (166.9W), performance ratio (92.70%) and
efficiency (12.40%) as shown in figures 4 and 5 respectively. These figures show that cooling of the module
increased the output voltage drastically. At the same time due to concentration effect, module generated more
current compared with module without reflectors. Due to these effects, the overall performance of the simple
moduleisimprovedsubstantially.Byutilizingwasteheatofmodule,thehybridsolarsystemgenerated791.9Wof
surplus thermal powerat flow rate of0.042 Kg/secas show in figure 5. The combined PV/T efficiency of system
was71.40 %asshowninfigure 6. Theforce circulation system wasin operation from10AM to3 PM to supply
coolingwatertohybridsystem.Enhancementinsystemperformancesandreductioninoperatingtemperatureof
thehybridsystemwereobservedfrom10.30AMto3pm.Theperformanceofthespiralflowheatexchangerfor
cooledmoduleandcooledmodulewithreflectorsforpeakPVpowerconditionisshownintable3.Figure4shows
thatthePVefficiencyproducedbythecooledmodulewithreflectorsislowthanthatbycooledmodule.Thishad
happened,asthetotalradiationmeasuredbypyronometerforcooledmoduleexperimentwaslowerthancooled
modulewithreflectorsforpeakPVpowercondition.

WasteHeatRecoveryStudyofSpiralFlowHeatExchangerUsedinHybridSolarSystemwithReflectors13

TABLE3PERFORMANCEOFTHEHEATEXCHANGERFORCOOLEDMODULEANDCOOLEDMODULEWITHREFLECTORS

Timeslot

Performanceoftheheatexchangerforcooledmodule
(0C)

Performanceoftheheatexchangerforcooledmodulewith
reflectors(0C)

Twi

Twe

TweTwi

Twi

Twe

TweTwi

10:30

32.25

35.00

2.75

30.25

33.50

3.00

11:00

32.25

35.50

3.25

30.75

34.25

3.25

11:30

32.50

35.75

3.25

30.75

34.50

3.50

12:00

32.75

36.00

3.25

30.75

35.25

3.75

12:30

32.75

36.25

3.50

31.00

35.75

4.25

13:00

32.75

36.25

3.50

31.25

35.50

4.50

13:30

32.75

36.25

3.50

30.75

34.75

4.25

14:00

32.75

36.00

3.25

30.50

34.00

4.00

14:30

32.75

36.00

3.25

30.25

33.50

3.50

15:00

33.00

35.75

2.75

30.75

34.25

3.00

The temperature of water at the outlet of heat exchanger measured was 36370C for both systems, which was
suitableforlowgradeapplicationssuchasdomesticuse;toheatwaterinswimmingpool,etc.Itwasfoundthat
sunrays striking on reflectors were not fully reflected on module surface over a day, due to fixed position of
reflectors with respect to module surface. Between 11.30 AM to 2 PM when angle of incidence of sunrays was
nearly normal to PV surface and reflectors reflecting all receiving rays on module surface the system produced
highestPVpowerof166.9W.Forothertimings,missedreflectionsdidnothitthemodulesurfaceanddirectlywent
toatmosphere.Toutilizethesemissedreflections,reflectorsarerequiredtobetrackedcontinuouslyfrommorning
toeveningalongEastWestdirection.Duethis,angleofincidencemaymaintainconstantoveraday,producingPV
powerandefficiencyequaltoormorethanitsratedoutputpowerquotedatSTCcondition.Useofthermalgrease
compoundappliedattopsideofheatexchangerandbottomsideofmodulecouldminimizetheairgapbetween
thesesurfaces,improvingtherateofheattransferbetweenthem.Duetothiseffect,theoperatingtemperatureof
module falls, photovoltaic, thermal, and combined power and efficiencies of hybrid system are improved
respectively. It was also observed that, the temperature attended by bottom side sheet attached below heat
exchanger was equal to the ambient temperature for both configurations. This observation showed that selected
thickness of glass wool insulation was precise for this application. The operating temperature of cooled module
mayfurtherbereducedbyloweringinletwatertemperature;enhancingphotovoltaic,thermalandcombinedPV/T
powerandefficienciesofbothsystems.Sufficientwaterheadmaintainedinstorageofcoolingwatercanleadtouse
ofthermosiphonedhybridPV/Tsystemaddedwithreflectors.Thiswillbetheidealsolutionforelectricalpower
generationandhotwaterproductionusedforlowtemperatureapplications.Byusingthissystem,anautonomous
hybridsystemmaybedevelopedwhichcanbeusedinruralareas.

FIG.3PHOTOVOLTAICPOWERPRODUCEDBYCOOLEDMODULEANDCOOLEDMODULEWITHREFLECTORS

14V.N.PALASKAR,S.P.DESHMUKH

FIG.4PHOTOVOLTAICEFFICIENCYPRODUCEDBYCOOLEDMODULEANDCOOLEDMODULEWITHREFLECTORS

FIG.5THERMALPOWERPRODUCEDBYCOOLEDMODULEANDCOOLEDMODULEWITHREFLECTORS

FIG.6THERMALEFFICIENCYPRODUCEDBYCOOLEDMODULEANDCOOLEDMODULEWITHREFLECTORS

FIG.7PHOTOVOLTAIC/THERMALEFFICIENCYPRODUCEDBYCOOLEDMODULEANDCOOLEDMODULEWITHREFLECTORS

WasteHeatRecoveryStudyofSpiralFlowHeatExchangerUsedinHybridSolarSystemwithReflectors15

Conclusions
Thisstudycomparestheperformanceofsimplecooledmodulewithhybridsolarsystemfittedwithaluminumflat
reflectors to module sides. The electrical power of the watercooled module with reflectors compared with the
simple cooled module was improved by 14 % at 1.00 PM by fitting reflectors with small increase in cost of the
hybrid system. At the same time the thermal power and efficiency of water cooled module with reflectors
increasedby29%and6%respectively.Theperformanceratioofcooledmodulewithreflectorswasincreasedby
20.70 %. The hybrid system produced 791.90 W of thermal power with 59% efficiency, achieving a combined
efficiencyof71.40%.ThehybridsolarsystemexhibitedacombinedPV/Tefficiencyof71.40%ascomparedwith
that of62.92% obtained by simulation(Othman et.al.,2008). The experimental results makea goodfit with the
simulation results. The hybrid solar water system harnesses 71.40 % of total solar radiation falls on earth and
converts59%ofwasteheatintothermalenergythatcouldbeusedforlowgradetemperatureapplications.Thus,
onayearlybasis,thehybridsystemcanproduce1725.60KWhofcombinedenergyand300.40KWhofelectrical
energy. These experiments proved that the hybrid solar water system was a potential alternative for electrical
powergenerationandhotwaterproductionuseinruralareas.
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