Development of PV/T system in Thailand

This paper reports the development of a photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system in Thailand. The system uses amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells as the sunlight absorber. The system was first developed in Thailand by NSTDA (National Science and Technology Development Agency). The objective of developing PV/T system in Thailand is to reduce the total energy consumption in Thailand by using free energy such as solar radiation. The advantages of PV/T system are generating both electricity and heat at the same time by the same unit. The initial cost of the system can be reduced over 25% when compared with the conventional PV and thermal generation system. Therefore, the pay back period is faster for this system. Another objectives are to study the energy saving by using a-Si PV/T solar collector system which use a-Si instead of the black chrome coated absorber, which is expensive and to study its performance under tropical climate such as Thailand. Up to now, three pilot PV/T systems were installed at government divisions in Thailand by difference type of applications.