Performance Assessment of a Building Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal System in Mediterranean Climate—A Numerical Simulation Approach

This study addresses the thermal and energy performance assessment of a Building Integrated Photovoltaic Thermal (BIPVT) system installed on the facade of a test room in Solar XXI, a Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) located in Lisbon, Portugal. A numerical analysis using the dynamic simulation tool EnergyPlus was carried out for assessing the performance of the test room with the BIPVT integrated on its facade through a parametric analysis of 14 scenarios in two conditions: a) receiving direct solar gains on the glazing surface and b) avoiding direct solar gains on the glazing surface. Additionally, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the BIPVT system was performed using ANSYS Fluent. The findings of this work demonstrate that the BIPVT has a good potential to improve the sustainability of the building by reducing the nominal energy needs to achieve thermal comfort, reducing up to 48% the total energy needs for heating and cooling compared to the base case. The operation mode must be adjusted to the other strategies already implemented in the room (e.g., the presence of windows and blinds to control direct solar gains), and the automatic operation mode has proven to have a better performance in the scope of this work.