Numerical Study of Phase Change Material-Water Storage on Photovoltaic Thermal Module Performance

Use of phase change material (PCM) in water storage tank to generate tempera-ture stratification that could enhance performance of photovoltaic thermal (PVT) module was investigated by numerical simulation. A commercial PCM, filled in a set of 40 mm diameter spherical capsules contained in a 200-liter water storage tank was used and the storage was integrated to 4 units of 200 Wp (watt peak) unglazed PVT modules in series connection. One dimensional finite difference method and enthalpy method were used to estimate the PCM-water tank temperature. The RT42 PCM was used in this study of which the melting range was 38-43 °C, and the specific latent heat was 165 kJ/kg.