Abstract The technology of photovoltaic-thermal solar collectors offers an attractive option for the simultaneous production of electrical and thermal energies. This technology finds interesting applications in the fields of desalination, sensitive heating/cooling and other related industrial processes. In this paper, we study the performance of a photovoltaic-thermal solar power plant operating in a Mediterranean city (Catania, Italy). A novel numerical model for a solar plant, constituted by uncovered photovoltaic-thermal solar collectors, the hydronic and electric circuits, and thermal solar tank, is presented and validated with experimental data. The developed model, based on energy balance equations for each Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar plant component, allows determining the state and dynamic behaviour of the system. The set of equations attained is resolved via the Runge-Kutta (RK4) numerical method in MATLAB software. Moreover, the built model allows considering the effects of solar radiation, outdoor temperature, wind velocity, the temperature in the thermal storage, flow rate and features of the photovoltaic-thermal solar panel, on the electrical and thermal energy production. The performances of the photovoltaic-thermal solar power plant have been evaluated and analysed. In particular, hourly temperatures achieved in the solar tank as well as the voltage in open circuit condition are calculated and compared with the observed experimental data. Furthermore, such analysis highlights a very good correlation between experimental and simulated results with a coefficient of determination higher than 0.96 and a root mean square error lower than 7%. During the period of survey, the investigated Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar plant provide an average daily energy production of 0.83 kWh/m2 of electrical energy and 0.53 kWh/m2 of thermal energy.

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光伏/热电厂电热性能数值模型及实验验证

摘要 光伏-热能太阳能集热器技术为同时产生电能和热能提供了一种有吸引力的选择。该技术在海水淡化、敏感加热/冷却和其他相关工业过程领域得到了有趣的应用。在本文中，我们研究了在地中海城市（意大利卡塔尼亚）运行的光伏-热能太阳能发电厂的性能。提出了一种新型太阳能电站数值模型，该模型由未覆盖的光伏热太阳能收集器、水力回路和电路以及太阳能热罐构成，并用实验数据进行了验证。开发的模型基于每个光伏热太阳能设备组件的能量平衡方程，可以确定系统的状态和动态行为。获得的方程组通过 MATLAB 软件中的 Runge-Kutta (RK4) 数值方法求解。此外，构建的模型允许考虑太阳辐射、室外温度、风速、蓄热温度、流量和光伏热太阳能电池板的特性对电能和热能生产的影响。对光伏-热能太阳能发电厂的性能进行了评估和分析。特别是，计算了太阳能水箱中达到的每小时温度以及开路条件下的电压，并与观察到的实验数据进行了比较。此外，这种分析突出了实验和模拟结果之间非常好的相关性，决定系数高于 0.96，均方根误差低于 7%。