Development and Validation of a Model for Performance Simulation of an Air-Based BIPVT Roof Tile System Using Open-Source Libraries

In this work a simulation model for a novel air-based BIPVT roof tile system with rear ventilation is presented. This work contributes to closing the research gap concerning the performance estimation of the electrical and thermal system of such BIPVT systems, also under real operating conditions. Therefore, a simulation model which enables a holistic evaluation of a BIPVT system energy yield and performance is set up and refined. To achieve this, the initial simulation model is adapted to state-of-the-art PV modelling and expanded by still required simulation approaches for system components not investigated yet. Additionally, besides the coupling of insights from previous research, influencing parameters are derived specifically for installed components on site. The calculation results for the installed test site indicate electrical system yields within the range of conventional PV systems and above average performance ratios. Due to the consideration of the solar cooling effect, an efficiency gain for the electric energy yield of 2.0 % is achieved. An increase of the annual performance of the heat pump of 6.0 % at best case is identified by using the solar roof tiles waste heat. In this context, a low mass flow rate of the base-fluid appears to be the operating condition leading to the highest benefits for the overall system yield. A model validation performed with the use of infield measurement data shows an overestimation of 1.3 % concerning the actual electrical yield. Overall, the final model predicts the electric power output before inverter losses with an accuracy of 4.7 % in relative RMSE. It can be concluded that the developed simulation model enables a realistic overall energy yield prediction for the novel BIPVT solar roof tile.