The solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is one of the most promising and fastest growing renewable energy technologies which will play a primary role for electricity production in future. Photovoltaic thermal systems or renewable energy systems (RE) on harvesting an ample source of (solar) energy are the viable option (economically and environmentally) for various applications in developing and under developing countries. In recent times, intensive research work has been performed on RE systems to improve their performance in order to preserve the limited fossil fuels. Aim of the present review is to explore the assess of energy and economic performance of various RE systems viz. N photovoltaic thermal flat plate collector (N-PVT-FPC) (water and air), N photovoltaic thermal compound parabolic concentrator (N-PVT-CPC) water collector, N-PVT-FPC solar still, PVT greenhouse dryer, and building integrated photovoltaic thermal (BiPVT) (rooftop and facade) system. The thermal modeling of all these RE systems have been carried out and simulated to investigate their performance for the requirement of overall primary energy (thermal and electrical energy). Also, different solar cell technologies and recent techniques to improve solar thermal systems have been highlighted. It has been observed that SPV integrated solar thermal systems are self-sustained and more economical in rural sectors. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.