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 temperature 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.