Solar photovoltaic/thermal system for Thai hospital

Abstract

The first system of Thailand was installed at Banglamung Hospital, Chonburi. Its application is to
provide hot water for washing infected cloths. The major components of the system are PV/T collectors of 48
m2 gross area and a hot water storage tank of 2,500 litres. The daily productions are the heat of 518 MJ/day
and the electricity of 11 kWh/day with the system efficiency of 39%. To simulate the annual performance, it
shows that the system efficiency is 43%. To compare with the separate systems of PV system and solar water
heating system (SWH), the cost of electricity is 19.25 Baht/kWh, higher than the cost of PV system, and the
cost of thermal energy is 1.61 Baht/kWh, better than SWH system. The separated systems provide the better
economics results but the larger total area. Economics analysis of the PV/T system shows that it can replace
diesel oil and electricity from grid.