Experimental investigation of a photovoltaic/thermal system utilizing nanofluids incorporated with phase change materials

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2026

Abstract

Maximizing solar energy conversion in hot climates remains a critical challenge. The present study introduces a hybrid system that combines nanofluid cooling and phase change material (PCM) to improve photovoltaic thermal (PVT) module performance. The system integrates zinc oxide (ZnO) and magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles at varying volumetric concentrations (0.01%, 0.03%, and 0.05%) suspended in water and 50:50 ethylene glycol–water base fluids. Experimental tests were conducted on three identical 20 W monocrystalline PVT modules under real outdoor conditions in Cairo, Egypt, during June 2025, maintaining a fixed volumetric flow rate of 1.6 LPM. The investigation systematically evaluates the impact of nanofluid type, concentration, and base fluid composition on both the electrical and thermal performance of the PVT modules. The experimental findings reveal that coupling PCM with 0.05%MgO-water nanofluid leads to a minimum peak temperature of about 45.09°C, achieving a peak reduction of 20.1% and a substantial average decrease of 15.4% beyond the water reference PV module. At 0.05% concentration, the peak power output for MgO-water-PCM and ZnO-water-PCM approached 16.0 W, exceeding conventional water cooling by more than 5.79%. At the same concentration, the electrical efficiency enhancement of MgO-water-PCM peaks just above 5.7%, compared to 4.24% for the ZnO-water-PCM configuration. The overall system efficiency dramatically increased from 43.74% for PVT-water to a peak of 50.17% by adopting 0.05% MgO-PCM, a remarkable 6.43% absolute improvement, demonstrating the optimum configuration for the PVT module performance.

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