THE ASSESSMENT OF EFFICIENCY OF THERMOPHOTOVOLTAIC UNITS APPLICATION FOR THERMAL AND ELECTRIC ENERGY PROVIDING

The application of solar radiation for producing energy is the hot topic and a worldwide trend. The plants converting solar energy to thermal and electric energy should become some day the main generating capacities, in this case, the use of fossil fuel can be reduced considerably. Many regions, in particular, the Republic of Crimea, are located in the zones suitable for the development of solar power. Complex producing of thermal and electric energy used simultaneously in the units combining thermal solar collector and the photoelectric generator is of special interest. Such units allow improving considerably the efficiency of transformation and application of energy coming from the sun. At the same time, considering different geographic and climate irregularities of the location of different regions, justification, and procedure of application of solar collectors with photovoltaic and thermal cells raise many questions. With regard to the conditions of the Republic of Crimea and based on the model of calculation of active solar capacities of the peninsula cities, the authors considered the possibility and reasonability of allocation of thermophotovoltaic helioprofiles mounted into the roofing material on the roofs of buildings and constructions and estimated their energy potential. In the result of the studies carried out with regard to the conditions of Sevastopol, the authors pre-calculated technical and economic indicators and determined the power characteristics of heliosystems. In the calculations, natural and stochastic changes of coming sunlight were considered. It is determined that the combined thermophotovoltaic helioprofiles mounted into the roof of buildings will allow achieving considerable economy of materials, areas and operating costs and increasing general efficiency of the whole system of the power supply of the object under the study.