The need to address the rising energy demand through clean energy and efficient management of such generated energy ranging from single family residence to larger communities has laid the foundation for this research. The necessity to accomplish this task without polluting the environment has set the path towards generating renewable energy in reliable ways, capable of sustaining distributed generation and decentralized grid architecture.
This thesis presents a hybrid model of concentrated photovoltaic / thermal collector (CPV/T) and its methodology, with waste heat recovery for domestic hot water consumption suitable for residential buildings.
This hybrid is the combination of two systems: concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) and solar thermal collector (STC). The CPV system generally concentrates inbound solar energy onto a smaller surface. The concentrator is modelled based on square spherical mirrors with a novel approach to attain uniform irradiation. This smaller surface is fitted with a photovoltaic (PV) modules made up of multi-junction solar cells (MJSC), which provide electrical outputs. This PV module is specifically chosen for this concentrator design. The module is fixed with a thermal collector to deliver the usable thermal energy to the storage tank.
This hybrid model is designed and a case study of a residential building based of Arkansas is simulated using eQuest. The energy consumption based on various parameters of an average residential building in Arkansas is prepared from ACEEE to establish the electric and thermal demand profile (Neubauer and Nadel 2011). A comparison graph is plotted to understand the influence of our proposed system on the existing energy demand and supply curve. The electrical efficiency of the system produces 5 kWp along with a 50% thermal efficiency. The reduction in the cost of electricity is discussed along with it net metering arrangement.