Technical, and environmental analysis of using a photovoltaic-thermal system to provide heating energy for a school building in Kerman

The growth of population, industry, and energy consumption in recent years has led to environmental problems and energy crises which are unprecedented in the life of the earth. Considering the high share of buildings in energy consumption, it is important to reduce the energy consumption of buildings and benefit from clean energy sources. Therefore, by knowing the methods of energy saving and clean sources of energy and examining their performance, an important step can be taken in the direction of sustainable development. With this aim, in the present research, the technical, environmental, and economic performance of the solar photovoltaic-thermal system for heating the building of a 24-class school was investigated by simulation in the software. The results showed that the photovoltaic-thermal system with an efficiency of more than 50% has the possibility of providing 41.1 MWh of thermal energy in the cold months of the year for the school building, which in some cases will be even more than the consumption requirement. The thermal energy provided by this clean system will reduce the production and emission of more than 9 tons of air pollutants. This system has the possibility of producing 73 MWh of electrical energy at the same time as providing thermal energy. The thermal and electrical power of the system can prevent the production and release of more than 53 tons of air pollutants yearly.