ZEMCH 2019 International Conference Proceedings April.2020 | Page 385

h �� is the heat loss coefficient between the back panel and ambient air. The useful thermal energy and efficiency of dual fluid PV/T system are given as follows: (7) Q � � � � C � �T �,� � T �,�� � � � � C � �T �,� � T �,�� � ŋ �� � � � � � � (8) where Q � and ŋ �� are the useful thermal energy and efficiency of the dual-fluid PV/T system. The equivalent thermal efficiency can be calculated as: ŋ ��� � ŋ �� � ŋ � /ŋ �� (9) ŋ ��� and ŋ � are the equivalent thermal and electrical efficiencies, respectively. ŋ �� is the electric generation efficiency of the conventional power plant and its value is taken as 38%. 2.2. Exergy Analysis  Exergy is a thermodynamic concept which defines every transformation process undergoes the  loss  of  measure  of  quality,  especially  considering  low  quality  energy  such  as  thermal  energy  (heat)  which involves temperature change.    Exergy analysis becomes more important when the extraction of  maximum useful work from the system is concerned. Exergy balance for single‐fluid PV/T system given  by  Agrawal  and  Tiwari  [18],  is  modified  for  the  dual‐fluid  PV/T  system  for  this  study.  Following  equations show the inflow and outflow of exergy from the proposed system [19].      ∑ Ex � �∑ E �� � ∑ Ex � (10) Ex �   is  the  overall  exergy  gain,  and  E ��   and  Ex �   are  the  thermal  and  electrical  exergy  gains,  respectively. For dual‐fluid PV/T system the thermal exergy gain is the sum of thermal exergy agains  associated with circulating pipe fluid (E ��,� ) and air (E ��,� ), respectively, can be expressed as follows:  ∑ E �� � ∑ E ��,� � ∑ E ��,� (11) ∑ E ��,� � Q � � � � C � �T � � ��3�log � � �,� ���� � � �,�� ���� (12) ∑ E ��,� � Q � � � � C � �T � � ��3�log � � �,� ���� � �,�� ���� (13) � Q �   and  Q �   are the useful thermal gain associated with circulating pipe fluid and air, respectively.    ŋ � �� � ∑ Ex � � � ���� (14) � Performance Evaluation of Photovoltaic/Thermal (PV/T) System Using Different Design Configurations 374