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EP-4735807-A1 - HEAT EXCHANGE DEVICE FOR A PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE, AND SYSTEM, USES AND METHOD THEREWITH

EP4735807A1EP 4735807 A1EP4735807 A1EP 4735807A1EP-4735807-A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a heat exchange device (1) for a photovoltaic module (2), the heat exchange device (1) having: a frame (3) with a cover (4), wherein the frame (3) can be attached to the rear side of the photovoltaic module (2), so that a hollow space (5) can be formed within the frame (4) and between the photovoltaic module (2) and the cover (4); a thermally conductive element (6) which is provided in the hollow space (5) and has support regions (15) for support on the photovoltaic module (2); an inlet (7) into the hollow space (5) and an outlet (8) out of the hollow space (5) for a gaseous heat exchange medium; wherein the thermally conductive element (6) is designed to allow heat exchange between the photovoltaic module (2) and the heat exchange medium flowing between the inlet (7) and the outlet (8) in the hollow space (5).

Inventors

  • REINHARD, ANDREAS

Assignees

  • Reinhard, Andreas

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240627

Claims (15)

  1. 1. Heat exchange device (1) for a photovoltaic module (2), the heat exchange device (1) comprising: a frame (3) with a cover (4), wherein the frame (3) can be attached to the back of the photovoltaic module (2) so that a cavity (5) can be formed within the frame (4) and between the photovoltaic module (2) and the cover (4); a heat conducting element (6) provided in the cavity (5) with support areas (15) for support on the photovoltaic module (2); an inlet (7) in the cavity (5) and an outlet (8) from the cavity (5) for a gaseous heat exchange medium; wherein the heat conducting element (6) is designed to enable heat exchange between the photovoltaic module (2) and the heat exchange medium flowing in the cavity (5) between the inlet (7) and the outlet (8).
  2. 2. Heat exchange device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the cavity (6) is rectangular and the heat exchange device (1) is designed such that a flow clearance (9), preferably wedge-shaped or trapezoidal in plan view, is provided on the inlet side and/or outlet side in the cavity (6).
  3. 3. Heat exchange device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat conducting element (6) is provided by at least one folded, kinked and/or bent sheet such that flow channels (11) running alongside one another are provided for the flow of the heat exchange medium in the cavity (5); wherein the flow channels (11) preferably run parallel; and wherein the flow channels (11) are preferably provided over at least 80% of the width of the heat exchange device (1).
  4. 4. Heat exchange device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein: the heat conducting element (6) preferably consists of aluminum; and/or the heat conducting element (6) is in one piece; and/or the support areas (15) are provided as flat surfaces for support on the photovoltaic module (2).
  5. 5. Heat exchange device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein: the heat-conducting element (6) has the support areas (15) such that they can lie flat on the photovoltaic module (2); and the heat-conducting element (6) has protruding areas (16) which protrude into the cavity (5).
  6. 6. Heat exchange device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising: a fan (12) which is provided at or in the inlet (7) or at or in the outlet (8) for generating a volume flow of the heat exchange medium in the cavity (5), and preferably a heating element (13) which is provided at or in the inlet (7) for heating the heat exchange medium, wherein preferably the fan (12) and the heating element (13) are provided as a structural unit.
  7. 7. Heat exchange device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heat exchange medium is air; and/or the inlet (7) and the outlet (8) each have an insulating bushing (14) or a seal (14) for sound insulation.
  8. 8. Heat exchange device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the heat conducting element (6) has regions (16) projecting into the cavity (5), which are formed in the cross-sectional profile, preferably at least largely, in triangular shape, in diamond shape, in pear shape or in spherical shape.
  9. 9. Heat exchange device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising: a recess (18) in the cover (4); a thermo-reactive closure element (17) provided in or on the recess (18), for example a lip made of bimetal, which is designed such that the recess (18) is open above a predefined limit temperature, and that the recess (18) is closed below the predefined limit temperature.
  10. 10. System with a heat exchange device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, the system comprising: a photovoltaic module (2), wherein the heat exchange device (1) is provided on the back of the photovoltaic module (2); and/or a supply device (31) for a heat pump (30), which is fluidically connected to the outlet (8) via a piping (30) in order to supply the heat exchange medium from the heat exchange device (1) to the heat pump (30), wherein the supply device (31) is preferably provided in front of or on the heat pump (30) in such a way that the heat pump (30) is supplied with the heat exchange medium on the inlet side.
  11. 11. System according to claim 10, the system further comprising: a transparent front cover (20) on the photovoltaic module (2); and/or insulation (19) on the back of the heat exchange device (1); and/or at least one wind deflector (22) which is attached to the sides of the photovoltaic module (2) or the heat exchange device (1) and which protrudes forward from the photovoltaic module (2).
  12. 12. Method with the heat exchange device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9 or with the system according to one of claims 10 or 11, the method comprising the following steps: Generating a flow of the heat exchange medium in the cavity (5) of the heat exchange device (1); Heating the heat exchange medium in the cavity (5) of the heat exchange device (1) by heat exchange with at least the heat conducting element (6).
  13. 13. Method with a heat exchange device (1) according to claim 5, the method comprising the following steps: Energizing the heating element (13) to heat the heat exchange medium; Energizing the fan (12) to transport the heat exchange medium from the heating element (13) to the heat conducting element (6); Heating of the heat conducting element (6) by the heated heat exchange medium.
  14. 14. Use of the heat exchange device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8 or of the system according to one of claims 10 or 11 for heating an infrastructure, for example a building.
  15. 15. Use of the system according to claim 10 or 11 for de-icing or clearing snow from the photovoltaic module (2) using warm air.

Description

Heat exchange device for a photovoltaic module, as well as system, uses and methods herewith TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to a heat exchange device for a photovoltaic module, a system with the heat exchange device and the photovoltaic module, a system with the heat exchange device and with a feed device for a heat pump, uses of the heat exchange device and the systems, and methods with the heat exchange device. STATE OF THE ART Heat exchange devices for photovoltaic modules are well known. Together, these are also referred to as combined photovoltaic-thermal modules. The aim of combining photovoltaic modules with solar thermal collectors is generally to increase the area-related efficiency and to generate both electricity and usable heat. The side of the photovoltaic module facing away from the sun is usually equipped with a heat exchanger through which a liquid or gaseous heat transfer medium flows, which makes a proportion of the solar radiation that is not converted into electrical energy and is absorbed usable in the form of heat. However, such heat exchangers for photovoltaic modules have not yet established themselves on the market. Reasons for this include a regularly negative cost/benefit ratio, increased complexity, increased maintenance costs and also the often insufficient efficiency of such heat exchangers. EP 2 655 759 Bl accordingly discloses a building-integrated thermoelectric hybrid roof system. In this system, a roof is provided which comprises: a plurality of metal slats mounted horizontally on a plurality of wooden slats mounted vertically above the roof, each of the plurality of metal slats having a longitudinal channel extending in a longitudinal direction; a liquid-containing heat pipe extending along the longitudinal channel in the longitudinal direction and mounted in each of the plurality of metal slats such that the metal slat alone supports the heat pipe; a heat exchanger connected to the heat pipe; a pump connected between the heat pipe and the heat exchanger to circulate the liquid through the heat pipe; a plurality of solar electric roof tiles mounted on the plurality of metal battens such that the metal batten alone holds the heat pipe and the plurality of solar electric roof tiles, wherein each of the plurality of solar electric roof tiles is a building-integrated photovoltaic roof tile having a solar module bonded to a fiber cement tile and connected in series to form a string. Such complete liquid-carrying systems are complex and expensive to install, require intensive maintenance and are usually not cost-effective even in terms of purchase costs. Furthermore, the efficiency of such systems is not optimal. Furthermore, EP 3 408 869 Bl discloses a hybrid solar panel comprising: a photovoltaic module having a front and a back, a heat exchanger which is arranged opposite the back of the photovoltaic module, a cooling fluid which circulates in the heat exchanger to absorb the heat of the photovoltaic module, the heat exchanger having a heat exchange region which is arranged beneath the photovoltaic module and in which the cooling fluid flows, this fluid flowing between an inlet region and an outlet region, internal channels which extend over the entire surface of the exchange region, the heat exchange region being formed by a double-walled hollow chamber plate, this hollow chamber plate consisting of an upper wall and a lower wall which extend between two lateral ends of the plate and between which hollow chambers are arranged, and these hollow chambers are in the form of adjacent internal channels which are in fluid communication with the inlet and outlet regions. This hybrid solar panel is not optimized in terms of flow technology and therefore has an efficiency that needs to be improved. For example, its air supply and exhaust are lossy and cannot be connected using conventional piping, which is why transition pieces are required. In addition, the manufacture of the hybrid solar panel is complex because special (milled) metal profiles are required. Another problem with photovoltaic modules with a combined heat exchanger is that the different thermal expansion of the heat exchanger on the back of the photovoltaic module and the photovoltaic module itself leads to thermal stresses, which can lead to material fatigue. The disadvantage of conventional systems can also be that the module temperatures can rise compared to a conventional photovoltaic module if the flow of the heat exchange medium fails or is insufficient, thus reducing the power yield. There is therefore a need for optimization in this regard too. In addition, a general problem with conventional photovoltaic modules with a combined heat exchanger is that they generally have a greater problem with the heat generated due to the rear insulation, which reduces the yield of the photovoltaic modules. A further disadvantage of conventional photovoltaic modules with a combined heat exchanger is that they often