Energy, Exergy, Economic and Environmental analysis of Photovoltaic Thermal Systems for Absorption Cooling Application

In light of the popular gain of renewable energy sources and solar energy technologies in particular, photovoltaic thermal systems present an interesting approach towards cogeneration of electricity and heat. The extraction of heat from the photovoltaic array for use also serves the purpose of reducing the operating temperature of the solar cells to improve their power conversion efficiency. This study analyzes the possibility of incorporating a PV/T system with an absorption system. Three different systems are considered; the single effect, double effect & triple effect absorption systems driven by heat from the PV/T. It is evident that the triple effect absorption cooling system has the highest coefficient of performance thus giving a greater cooling benefit for the same input energy from the PV/T.