Research Opportunities and Future Work

Abstract

PV/T collectors are hybrid units combining both photovoltaic (PV) modules and solar thermal collectors to generate electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. The thermal collector generates heat and provides cooling for the PV concurrently. PV/T design and development face many hurdles and issues that must be addressed. This chapter provides the conclusions and recommendations of this book. Conclusions are made as statements for various aspects of PV/T systems such as their technical design, performance, and evaluation criteria. The recommendations for future work are provided to help the research in this field to move forward. Hence, future works are recommended based on types of studies to original work, case studies, review articles, replication studies, and collaborations. Furthermore, the chapter presents the main hurdles and issues associated with the field of PV/T and displayed them as problem statements which are classified to technical challenges, economic challenges, social awareness challenges, and policy and regulation challenges. Furthermore, the chapter displays points of contention and debate in the field. Finally, the authors’ expectations of PV/T technology development are laid out.