Experimental investigation on optimal nanofluid-based PV/T system

Photovoltaic thermal systems working with different nanofluids and using deionized water as base fluid were investigated experimentally. The performance of nanofluids with 1% volume fraction was compared, including carbon, CuO, Al2O3, SiO2, and graphite nanofluids. It was observed that the SiO2 nanofluid shows the best solar absorbing property among them. It contributes to the best performance of photovoltaic thermal systems with an overall power of 2.609 W, followed by the systems using carbon, graphite, Al2O3, CuO nanofluid, respectively. An experiment for a separated PV system was conducted under the same conditions with an obtained electric power of 0.175 W, which is significantly lower than heat absorbing power and higher than that of a PV subsystem. We indicate that the PV system working with nanofluids can improve the overall outcomes in solar power generation. (C) 2019 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).