The Effect of Nanofluid as a Working Fluid on Increasing the Efficiency of the PV-Thermosiphon System

PV-Thermosiphon technology allows us to produce electrical and thermal energy simultaneously from sunlight. Collecting heat from the panel using a thermal collector as a coolant will enable us to reuse the heat for other purposes. This makes this technology interesting for further research. This research aims to understand how the addition of nanofluid as a working fluid affects the performance of the PV-Thermosiphon system. We used modeling with ANSYS18.2 to see how the temperature distribution changes in the thermal collector. This research found that using Al₂O₃–water nanofluid as the working fluid produced the best electrical efficiency of 12.56% and thermal efficiency of 9.54%. The total efficiency value reaches 22.09%, making it the most optimal choice to improve panel performance compared to other materials. The homogeneity test on the effect of working fluid on system efficiency using the ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) method showed F = 0.000233 and P = 0.99767. ANOVA is a statistical method used to compare the means of three or more samples, providing a measure of the significance of the differences. The improved efficiency could lead to more cost-effective and sustainable solar energy solutions. Additionally, the findings could provide opportunities for further studies to explore other nanofluids in optimizing hybrid energy systems, thereby contributing to developing more advanced energy systems in the global effort toward cleaner energy alternatives.