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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2020) | Viewed by 15104

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Prof. Dr. Daniel Tudor Cotfas

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Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty, Transilvania University of Brasov, Eroilor, nr. 29, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Interests: photovoltaic systems; hybrid systems; energy harvesting; modeling of the photovoltaic cells and panels
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Dr. Petru Adrian Cotfas

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Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Faculty, Transilvania University of Brasov, Eroilor, nr. 29, 500036 Brasov, Romania
Interests: photovoltaic systems; hybrid systems characterization; concentrated light systems; hybrid system reliability
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Dear Colleagues,

Depending on the type of application and its scale (utility scale power plants, medium-scale commercial systems, building-integrated solar energy systems, or small scale applications down to energy harvested for wearable devices and sensor networks), the design of the solar hybrid power system is called to address the energy needs of the application whether on-grid or off-grid, based on the geographic location of the site and other factors, aiming at the most cost-effective and competitive configuration with a long system lifetime. Recent research is focusing on interdisciplinary, intelligent, and innovative configurations of hybrid solar energy systems, contributing to the increase of efficiency, reliability, and overall system yield.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

Advanced solar hybrid configurations based on solar energy sources: photovoltaic cells and panels—PV, solar thermoelectric generators—STEG, and solar thermal collectors—STC;
Solar hybrid power systems in concentrated light;
Innovative applications of the solar hybrid power systems for small-scale (energy harvesting);
Methods to calculate the electrical and thermal parameters of the solar hybrid power system components in different work conditions;
Reliability and feasibility studies and consideration of critical issues encountered in solar hybrid power systems;
Grid integration of solar hybrid power systems;
Solar hybrid power system trading market and energy policy.

Prof. Dr. Daniel Tudor Cotfas
Prof. Dr. Petru Adrian Cotfas
Guest Editors

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Related Special Issue

Solar Hybrid Power Systems II in Energies

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 4235 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrical and Thermal Performances of Bi-Fluid PV/Thermal Collectors

by Oussama El Manssouri, Bekkay Hajji, Giuseppe Marco Tina, Antonio Gagliano and Stefano Aneli

Energies 2021, 14(6), 1633; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14061633 - 15 Mar 2021

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 2036

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) modules suffer from a reduction of electric conversion due to the high operating temperatures of the PV cells. Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) technology represents an effective solution for cooling the PV cells. This paper discusses a theoretical study on a novel bi-fluid PV/T collector. One dimensional steady-state numerical model is developed, and computer simulations are performed using MATLAB. This numerical model is based on a pilot PV/T plant, installed in the Campus of the University of Catania, and was experimentally validated. The design of the proposed bi-fluid PV/T is based on a commercial WISC PV/T collector, to which are added an air channel, an aluminum absorber with fins, and a layer of thermal insulation. The analysis of the thermal behavior of the proposed collector is carried out as a function of the flow rate of the two heat transfer fluids (air and water). Finally, the comparative analysis between the conventional water-based PV/T collector, namely PV/T, and the bi-fluid (water/air-based) WISC PVT, namely PV/Tb, is presented for both winter and summer days. For the investigated winter day, the numerical results show an overall improvement of the performance of the bi-fluid PV/T module, with an increase of thermal energy transferred to the liquid side of 20%, and of 15.3% for the overall energy yield in comparison to the conventional PV/T collector. Instead, a loss of 0.2% of electricity is observed. No performance improvements were observed during the summer day. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar Hybrid Power Systems)

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25 pages, 2787 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Economic Assessment of a PV Hybridized Linear Fresnel Collector Supplying Air Conditioning and Electricity for Buildings

by Alaric Christian Montenon and Costas Papanicolas

Energies 2021, 14(1), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010131 - 29 Dec 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1921

Abstract

The present study evaluates the potential upgrade of a Linear Fresnel Reflector (LFR) collector at the Cyprus Institute (CyI) with photovoltaics via the calculation of the Levelized Cost Of Heat (LCOH). For over 4 years the collector has been supplying heating and cooling to the Novel Technologies Laboratory (NTL) of the Cyprus Institute (CyI). Extensive measurements have been carried out both on the LFR and NTL to render real numbers in the computations. This hybridization would be undertaken with the installation of PV arrays under mirrors, so that the collector is able to either reflect direct radiation to the receiver to process heat or to produce electricity directly in the built environment. The main objective is the decrease of the LCOH of Linear Fresnel collectors, which hinders their wider deployment, while air conditioning demand is globally booming. The results show that the LCOH for a small LFR to supply air conditioning is high, c€25.2–30.1 per kWh, while the innovative PV hybridization proposed here decreases it. The value of the study resides in the real data collected in terms of thermal efficiency, operation, and maintenance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar Hybrid Power Systems)

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16 pages, 7451 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In-Situ Measurement of Power Loss for Crystalline Silicon Modules Undergoing Thermal Cycling and Mechanical Loading Stress Testing

by Sergiu Spataru, Peter Hacke and Dezso Sera

Energies 2021, 14(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010072 - 25 Dec 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1874

Abstract

An in-situ method is proposed for monitoring and estimating the power degradation of mc-Si photovoltaic (PV) modules undergoing thermo-mechanical degradation tests that primarily manifest through cell cracking, such as mechanical load tests, thermal cycling and humidity freeze tests. The method is based on in-situ measurement of the module’s dark current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curve during the stress test, as well as initial and final module flash testing on a Sun simulator. The method uses superposition of the dark I-V curve with final flash test module short-circuit current to account for shunt and junction recombination losses, as well as series resistance estimation from the in-situ measured dark I-Vs and final flash test measurements. The method is developed based on mc-Si standard modules undergoing several stages of thermo-mechanical stress testing and degradation, for which we investigate the impact of the degradation on the modules light I-V curve parameters, and equivalent solar cell model parameters. Experimental validation of the method on the modules tested shows good agreement between the in-situ estimated power degradation and the flash test measured power loss of the modules, of up to 4.31 % error (RMSE), as the modules experience primarily junction defect recombination and increased series resistance losses. However, the application of the method will be limited for modules experiencing extensive photo-current degradation or delamination, which are not well reflected in the dark I-V characteristic of the PV module. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar Hybrid Power Systems)

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24 pages, 22163 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Conversion and Testing of a Solar Thermal Parabolic Trough Collector for CPV-T Application

by Richard Felsberger, Armin Buchroithner, Bernhard Gerl and Hannes Wegleiter

Energies 2020, 13(22), 6142; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13226142 - 23 Nov 2020

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2872

Abstract

In the field of solar power generation, concentrator systems, such as concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) or concentrated solar power (CSP), are subject of intensive research activity, due to high efficiencies in electrical power generation compared to conventional photovoltaics (PV) and low-cost energy storage on the thermal side. Even though the idea of combining the thermal and electrical part in one absorber is obvious, very few hybrid systems (i.e., concentrator photovoltaics-thermal systems (CPV-T)) are either described in literature or commercially available. This paper features the conversion of a commercial thermal parabolic trough collector to a CPV-T hybrid system using multi-junction PV cells. The design process is described in detail starting with the selection of suitable PV cells, elaborating optical and mechanical system requirements, heat sink design and final assembly. Feasibility is proven by practical tests involving maximum power point tracking as well as empirical determination of heat generation and measurement results are presented. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar Hybrid Power Systems)

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23 pages, 5336 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Management and Performance Control Analysis of Hybrid Photovoltaic Energy Storage System under Variable Solar Irradiation

by Mohamed Louzazni, Daniel Tudor Cotfas and Petru Adrian Cotfas

Energies 2020, 13(12), 3043; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13123043 - 12 Jun 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2463

Abstract

This paper introduces the management control of a microgrid comprising of photovoltaic panels, battery, supercapacitor, and DC load under variable solar irradiation. The battery is used to store the energy from the photovoltaic panels or to supply the load. The supercapacitor is used to reduce stress on batteries, improve their life cycle, and absorb the fluctuations in the energy produced. The generated photovoltaic power is optimized using Perturb and Observe and Incremental Conductance algorithms to extract the maximum power point tracking. The two algorithms are modified by adding an instantaneous step size to change the direction of the power, so as to reach the maximum power point tracking. The currents of the battery and supercapacitor are managed and controlled using the multi-loop proportional integral controllers. The obtained results show that the multi-loop proportionally integral controllers Perturb and Observe are better than the multi-loop proportional integral controllers Incremental Conductance in terms of stability of injected power. The storage system works perfectly for energy supply, system protection, and fluctuation absorption during the transitions in the solar irradiation. The proposed hybrid storage system can be installed in rural areas as an off-grid system for several uses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar Hybrid Power Systems)

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Review

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32 pages, 3904 KiB

Open AccessReview

Comprehensive Review of Methods and Instruments for Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric Generator Hybrid System Characterization

by Petru Adrian Cotfas and Daniel Tudor Cotfas

Energies 2020, 13(22), 6045; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13226045 - 19 Nov 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2873

Abstract

Finding new sustainable energy sources or improving the efficiencies of the existing ones represents a very important research and development direction. The hybridization approach is one solution for increasing the efficiency of the existing energy sources. In the case of photovoltaic technology, the hybridization of the photovoltaic panels (PV) with thermoelectric generators (TEGs) has become a more interesting solution for the research community in the last decade. Thus, a comprehensive review of the characterization methods and instruments used in PV-TEG hybrid system study represents the objective of this work. PV and TEG equivalent circuits are presented. The instruments and software applications used for the measurements and simulations are presented and analyzed. The analysis of the literature reveals that there are many papers that offer partial or no information about the instruments used or about the measurement quality (accuracies, uncertainties, etc.). In hybrid system modeling, the preferred software applications are MATLAB (MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA) and COMSOL Multiphysics (Comsol, Burlington, MA, USA), while for experimental studies based on computers, LabVIEW (NI, Austin, TX, USA) is preferred. This review work could be interesting for researchers and engineers who are interested in finding solutions for characterizing or monitoring hybrid system components, but it is not limited to these. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Solar Hybrid Power Systems)

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