An Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal Smart Energy Station

Since their invention, photovoltaic (PV) cells have
undergone significant technological advancements, emerging as
one of the most accessible sources of clean energy with an
effectively infinite fuel supply. However, PV technology
continues to face a critical challenge; a decline in efficiency as
operating temperatures rise above 25 °C. This research aims to
mitigate the impact of elevated temperatures on PV panels by
investigating the phase change materials (PCMs) for
temperature control of the PV panels and release their
generated heat to PCMs as heat collection and temporary
storage units. Consequently, the heat can be then transferred
from the temporary storage point to a long-term heat storage in
Zeolite materials through supply-air duct to enable forced
convection heat transfer via moving air. Furthermore, this
research also explores the maximum power point tracking
(MPPT) algorithms to harvest the maximum electrical power
from the PV panels and then regulate this power to integrate
with a DC microgrid of 48V by controlling power electronic
converters at various environmental and operational conditions.
The proposed demonstration offers a cheap and effective
solution to regulate the PV’s temperature to achieve optimal
performance and storing the excess heat for other domestic
applications. It is also modular to accommodate different energy
aspects as battery storage or fuel cells and allows for peer-topeer
selling of energies.