Quantifying the impact of energy matrices on life cycle cost assessment of N partly covered photovoltaic thermal concentrators coupled to conical solar still

Abstract

This study presents a comprehensive energy, exergy, and life cycle cost analysis of a novel conical solar still integrated with N photovoltaic thermal compound parabolic concentrators (N-PVT-CPC-CSS), aimed at addressing water scarcity using sustainable solar energy. A detailed mathematical model is developed and validated against experimental data, showing strong agreement with correlation coefficients of 0.97, 0.98, and 0.99 for water temperature, glass temperature, and freshwater yield, respectively. Annual performance metrics, including overall energy and exergy efficiencies, are computed using MATLAB for the climatic conditions of New Delhi, India. The system achieves notable thermal and exergy efficiencies of 56.51 % and 16.61 %, respectively. Key energy metrics such as energy payback time (EPT), energy production factor (EPF), and life cycle conversion efficiency (LCCE) are determined to be 1.134 years, 0.45 per year, and 0.4337, respectively. Comparative analysis reveals that the proposed N-PVT-CPC-CSS reduces EPT by 77.32 % and enhances LCCE by 90.77 % compared to a conventional N-PVT-CPC-coupled single slope solar still. These results demonstrate the superior performance and sustainability of the proposed system, aligning with global efforts toward clean water and energy as outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.