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| Principal Investigator |
項目負責人 |
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| Dr CHOW, Tin Tai |
周天泰博士 |
[ Profile ] |
| Associate Professor,
Division of Building Science and Technology |
建築科技學部副教授 |
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| Stage of Technology Transfer: Commercial viable technology/product ready for sale |
| Research Area:
Electronics and Telecom - Power Electronics |
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Abstract
The invention is a hybrid photovoltaic/thermal collector that converts solar energy to electrical energy and thermal energy by using photovoltaic cells and thermal energy collector respectively. This solar collector comprises a layer of photovoltaic (PV) cells laminated to the surface of a thermal collector. The thermal collector consists of an extruded box structure installed with multiple adjacent channels extending in a longitudinal direction, and which are interconnected by a pair of transverse tubes provided at respective opposite ends of the longitudinal channels. Its smooth front surface allows easy lamination of PV modules. The modular design also allows collectors of various sizes to be conveniently assembled. It is compatible with a wide range of buildings, in particular residential buildings. Such a hybrid design is able to shorten the payback period of a common PV panel from more than 50 years to around 10 years.
The hybrid concept is inspired by the fact that a commercial solar cell only converts 6-15% of the incoming solar radiation into electricity. More than 85% of the solar energy is either reflected or converted into heat. Prolonged operation will undermine the cell efficiency, owing to the elevated operating temperature, and that the heat may also lead to structural damages. By cooling the solar cells with a fluid stream such as air or water, the electrical output can be improved.
Uniqueness and Competitive Advantage
• Save space for heating/cooling energy
• Save building materials
• Able to reduce daily space cooling load via the external facade by about 55 %
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Contact Information
Mr Tomson Lee, Senior Technology Transfer Officer
Address: Technology Transfer Office, City University of Hong Kong
Room 401, Festival Walk Tower, 80 Tat Chee Avenue
Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 3442 6441/3442 6859
Fax: (852) 2265 8028
Email: thmlee@cityu.edu.hk
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