While you need as much sunlight during the daytime for the solar PV system to capture and convert into electrical energy, current solar panel technology only has system efficiency of only up to 18% on average. Because all solar panels have temperature coefficient values, operating temperatures higher than optimal operating conditions will have a negative impact on overall system performance, with much of the heat generated going into waste.
As a result, hybrid solar photovoltaic thermal solutions or PV-T for short has been developed together with existing thermal exchange systems to not only capture and convert sunlight into electricity but also capture the thermal energy which otherwise would have been wasted to be repurposed for other uses. This not only lowers the solar panels’ operating temperatures which results in higher system efficiency ratings, but also reduces energy consumption costs needed for other applications requiring thermal energy.
Some of the applications include (but not limited to):