Thermal management of building-integrated photovoltaic/thermal systems: A comprehensive review

Building-integrated photovoltaics/thermal (BIPV/T) systems are capable of generating electricity and heat simultaneously. Several strategies have been proposed to integrate PV into a building structure to increase the efficiency of the whole system, provide indoor heating, and produce hot water. The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively review some new and efficient technologies being employed to benefit from BIPV/T systems for indoor heating. The integration of PV into the structure of buildings and the technology of thermal management have to be straightforward. Therefore, in the present work, temperature regulation of PV cells is comprehensively reviewed considering potential methods i.e. air-assisted cooling and the use of phase change material (PCM). In addition, this paper evaluates previous works on thermal management of BIPV/T—air-based and PCM based—for space heating. Special attention is given to the effects of various configurations on buildings’ thermal load, and the possible methods for system operation analysis. Furthermore, related issues such as PV and building overheating are discussed and recommendations are provided for future research studies.