In this study, a multicriteria optimization is developed for a hybrid building
integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPVT) system with a sensible rotary heat
exchanger (SRHX) for both heating and cooling purposes. The BIPVT system
is considered with and without considering the glass cover. Both the heat and
electricity produced by the BIPVT-SRHX system are determined according to
the energy and exergy phenomena. The objective functions aimed to be maximized
are the annual total amount of generated energy and exergy. The length
and depth of SRHX, geometrical parameters of PV modules, and the air mass
flow rate are the parameters considered in the optimization. The results reveal
a high amount of produced energy for the optimized design; however, the total
amount of generated exergy is low. The system with the glass cover shows a
higher amount of gained heat and less generated electricity compared with the
system without the glass cover. The total energy produced by the system with
and without the glass cover is about 227 and 220 MWh, respectively, and the
total produced exergy by the systems with and without the glass cover is 1207
and 1585 kWh for the optimized design, respectively.