Search

With the aim of diversifying different energy sources and achieving net zero emissions, hybrid renewable energy sources (HRES) represent the future of the world. However, several HRES simulation software do not integrate the Photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system. This article designs an optimal design model for a tri-hybrid Photovoltaic/thermal/hydroelectric (PV/T/H) system for a rural locality in the North Cameroon region. The two Demand Side Management (DSM) strategies used reveal that the DSM strategy significantly reduced the energy cost by 59 % and the emission by CO 2 22 % compared to the No-DSM mode. Although the use of battery storage (BSS) is used in both cases, the optimal solutions obtained thanks to the multi-objective optimization method implemented on Matlab led to 418 PV/T panels, 2 MH generators, 2 diesel generators (DG) and 217 PV/T panels and 1 DG for DSM and No-DSM mode respectively. This study is a demonstration of the effect of dynamic tariffs and active demand management technologies on PV/T/H modeling and optimization. It also reveals the need to hybridize PV/T with other energy systems to increase performance and achieve net zero emissions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

To assess the production potential, economic profitability and ecobalance of the photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system in Cameroon, different configurations of HTF based on water, vegetable and synthetic oils, coupled with different forms of titanium dioxide ( TiO 2 ) are used. A numerical code is written in Matlab. The PV/T model connected in direct contact PV-absorber is validated and a multi-objective optimization of the system is performed. The hourly evolution of PV cell temperature for the six HTF configurations revealed a value below 36 °C with Coton/TiO 2 . The platelets-and spherical-shaped nanoparticles increase the convection transfer coefficient between the fluids and the tubes. TiO 2 showed a higher thermal influence in vegetable and synthetic oils than in water at a volume concentration of 4 %. The cotton/TiO 2 configuration showed a 12.08 % improvement in electrical efficiency over conventional PV systems with low exergy efficiency compared to water. Configurations with therminolVP-1/TiO 2 are better, with the proposed energy cost reduced to 33 % of the price of electricity in Cameroon. The PV/T-Palm/TiO 2 system showed an energy cost of $0.03 with a net present value of $568.45, an emission rate of 7.78 kg, a reversibility index of 1.95, an annual cost of $7.07 and a payback time of 5.97yr. This shows that PV/T systems based on vegetable oils are economical., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)