SOLAR ENERGY, vol.199, pp.657-672, 2020 (SCI-Expanded)
The high energy costs in drying applications lead to the need for sustainable solar energy dryers with energy storage. Obtaining both electricity and heat from solar energy is important for sustainability in agricultural applications. In this study, a novel sustainable photovoltaic/thermal assisted heat pump drying (PVTAHPD) was designed and tested. This experimental study was carried out under two main parts: cooling of photovoltaic (PV) panel with heat pump (HP) and drying of mint leaves. By cooling the PV panel, an average of 12.27% and a maximum of 14.02% electrical efficiency was obtained depending on the solar radiation and ambient temperature. An average of 56.37% thermal efficiency of the photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system was also achieved. The average coefficient of the performance (COP) of PVTAHPD system was determined as 4.18. PVTAHPD system, which is able to supply its energy from the solar radiation and operates stand-alone, could store approximately 36% of the energy produced.