Abstract

A simulation program combined with experiment for hot water supply system using PV/T collector combined with Single Basin solar still is introduced in this paper. PV/T collector is known as a thermal - electrical co-generation device. Besides the ability to generate electricity, it also generates heat to heat water, serving water distillation at night. This combination not only helps to increase the electrical capacity of the solar cells, but also helps to increase the total distillation output of the day and night for the Single Basin solar still. Based on the energy balance equations at the components of the PV/T collector, the hot water tank and the components of the Single Basin solar still, a simulation program is set up using the MATLAB programming language with the Simulink tool. The simulation results are verified experimentally with high accuracy from 4.24% to 7.11%. The article demonstrates that the electrical capacity of solar cells increased by 8.6%, the average electrical efficiency and average energy efficiency of PV/T collector reached 15.1% and 36.2%, respectively. Besides, the distilled water output in one day increased by an average of 38.2% compared to the traditional Single Basin water distillation equipment. The simulation program in this study can be applied in different weather conditions, saving time and money for the implementation of projects combining PV/T collector and Single Basin solar still for arid localities and remote islands.