This
page explains that for a typical photovoltaic panel 14% of incident energy is
converted to electricity. 7% is reflected and the remaining 79% is
converted to heat. It also explains that "All solar panels lose power at higher cell temperatures." That is why they recommend ventilating the PV
panels and not using roof tiles.
My question is: Why not combine the
panels with solar thermal somehow? We could thermally connect the panel
to glycol or other heat transfer medium to take away the heat and keep the panel cool. The heat could then be transfered to a storage medium such as a water tank. We would get better PV performance and also have heat warm our house or hot tub.
