The combination of solar thermal and PV technologies leads to form a single module called PVT system. This system is able to produce heat and electricity simultaneously. In this paper, a new configuration and design of PV/T system are proposed, and a theoretical study of this system is evaluated. The PV/T consists of certain layers which are the glass, air gap, PV panel, absorber plate and insulating material layer. The monocrystalline PV and spiral flow absorber plate are used in this study. The results of the system performance under typical sunny climatic Malaysian condition are presented. The maximum thermal and electrical efficiencies obtained are 64.4 % and 12.13%, respectively. The effect of mass flow rate on the outlet water temperature is also evaluated. It is shown that the optimum mass flow rate for the designed system is between 0.005 and 0.075 kg/s.

A new configuration of Photovoltaic/Thermal Collector (PV/T) system has been designed and proposed. The (PV/T) consists of certain layers which are the glass, air gap, PV panel, absorber plate and insulating material layer. In this paper, a glazed (PV/T) solar collector using the spiral flow design absorber has been studied under different Malaysian meteorological conditions. The Performance of outlet water temperature, thermal, electrical and combined (PV/T) efficiencies under two different Malaysian climatic conditions (sunny and cloudy) days have been evaluated. Based on the simulation results, the maximum hourly thermal efficiency of sunny day is 61.3%, while the maximum hourly thermal efficiency of cloudy day is 59.6%. The electrical efficiencies for typical sunny and cloudy days are 12.89%, 13.03%, respectively. The maximum hourly combined (PV/T) efficiency for typical sunny and cloudy days are 74.1% and 72.63%, respectively. As seen from the results, the proposed (PV/T) system design is applicable to be used under different Malaysian climate conditions.

Vehicle-induced turbulent airflow by the traffic in the highways is one of the sources of wind energy which can be harvested to supply the power to the highway lighting and telecommunication signaling. This work focuses on the assessment of potentiality of implementing small scale wind turbines along the highways in Malaysia. The study was started by conducting wind speed measurements adjacent to the highway at Lebuh SPA (Sungai Udang - Paya Rumput - Ayer Keroh Highway), a major highway in Malacca state, Malaysia. Three positional parameters have been investigated for suitable placement of the wind turbines. They are: the lateral distances from the road shoulder, the heights from the ground, and the orientation of the wind turbines relatives to the road. The former two parameters were set at 0.5 m, 1.0 m and 1.5 m for each position; while the latter was varied at perpendicular, 45°, and parallel to the road. The measurements were conducted using hot-wire anemometers. The results showed that the optimum positions for the wind turbine is at 1.0 m from the lateral distance and the height above the ground, respectively, and the optimum orientation is found to be 45° from the road at which the horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWT) can be directed. The large size vehicles such as lorries and busses were observed to produce higher wind speed as compared to the smaller ones. The results were further verified by using numerical simulation work through ANSYS Fluent.