A novel PV/T system integrated with spectral beam filter: A comprehensive optical and thermodynamic study

• A novel solar PV/T system integrated with film-based spectral filter is proposed. • 72.8% reflectance and 27.2% transmittance are achieved by the spectral filter. • Solar concentrating uniformity of the PV cell is significantly improved. • 15.75% electrical and 20.90% thermal convert efficiency are delivered. Aiming to reduce the high operating temperature of photovoltaic (PV) cells faced by traditional concentrated photovoltaic systems, this study presents a novel photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system, with specific components and geometric structures, incorporating an advanced film-based spectral beam filter. The film-based spectral beam filter is designed, demonstrating optical properties with an average reflectance and transmittance of 72.8% and 27.2%, respectively. The optical and thermodynamic performances of the PV/T system are investigated through Ray Tracing and Computational Fluid Dynamics. The optical results illustrate that the PV cells experience consistent high uniform distribution of the concentrated sunlight compared previous studies; and, as the incident angle of the impinging solar radiation increases to 1.6°, the overall optical efficiency of the PV/T system can be kept at 49.8%. The thermodynamic results indicate that the electrical conversion efficiency and the thermal conversion efficiency of the PV/T system are 15.75% and 20.90%, respectively. To improve the thermal efficiency of the PV/T system, adjustments such as suitably elevating the inlet fluid velocity and ambient temperature or moderating the inlet fluid temperature and environmental wind velocity can be implemented effectively.