Maximizing Energy Savings and Numerical Analysis of Building‐Integrated Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems Cooled with Heat Pipes

Abstract Various technologies are used to decrease the buildings' energy consumption, and photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems are one of them. The temperature increment and electrical efficiency decrement of PV/Ts are the major disadvantages. In this regard, a numerical analysis is conducted on the rooftop PV/Ts cooled with heat pipes in a nearly zero energy building. In the recent study, the temperature of the panel, back sheet, the heat pipe's evaporator, outlet water of the header pipe, thermal and electrical efficiencies, electricity generation and consumption, and the effect of cooling of panels on the total performance of the building are investigated by Python. The maximum cooling amounts by using heat pipes are 10.44, 11.79, 15.83, and 10.75 °C for winter, spring, summer, and fall, respectively. The conducted evaluations on the electrical efficiency illustrated that the highest and lowest increments are 1.09 and 0.11 for July and February. Furthermore, the highest and lowest average total efficiency reached 69.59 and 44.60%. The cooling of PV/T by heat pipes caused a 2.33% increment in the supply of required electricity of the building at its highest amount. In addition, decreasing the temperature of PV/Ts resulted in 31.45 kWh of electricity savings during the considered period.