A critical review of concentrating and nanofluid-based hybrid PV/T systems utilizing beam splitting technique:...

The utilization of nanofluids and concentrating techniques in solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) systems, to enhance the overall system performance, have been analysed explicitly in the last few years. More recently, nanofluid-based optical filters were integrated with photovoltaic (PV) systems for the effective utilization of solar spectrum, i.e. below and beyond the band-gap of PV cells. Therefore, to quantify the recent progress of spectral beam splitting-based hybrid PV/T systems (BSPV/T), a systematic review has been presented therein. The study highlights the technological and scientific advancement in BSPV/T in last two decades. Linear Fresnel mirror-based BSPV/T showed significant enhancement in the overall performance of hybrid PV/T system. Recently developed nanoparticle-laden BSPV/T system shows significant improvement in overall thermal efficiency of BSPV/T system, thanks to decoupling of thermal system and PV cell. Further, economic analysis, carbon footprint, and environmental assessment of BSPV/T are also discussed briefly. At the last, the authors have made an effort to identify the challenges, limitations, and prospective paths for future research in BSPV/T systems.