Crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells are a promising candidate for high efficiency solar cells, and the heterojunction photovoltaic (HIT-PV) module is strongly dependent on the temperature. In this study, we design three heterojunction photovoltaic modules to improve the performance by preventing from over-heating, with, glass, Tedlar/Polyethylene terephthalate/Tedlar (TPT) and aluminum substrates, respectively. The efficiencies of those HIT-PV modules are investigated under four different outdoor climates. The aluminum-module shows the best thermal dissipation; while the glass-module/TPT-module have the better electrical efficiency and electrical energy, since there is the high reflectivity layer on the surface of the glass (and TPT) substrates rather than the aluminum substrate. In order to increase the output power of HIT-PV modules, we design a heterojunction photovoltaic thermal (HIT-PVT) system based on HIT solar cells and aluminum thermal collector. The measured results of HIT-PVT system show that the coolant circulation increase the output power, and the HIT-PVT module can provide the domestic hot water supply (up to 51.2 degrees C) under outdoor conditions. In addition, the cost of HIT-PVT systems are much lower than those of the conventional photovoltaic systems, and the investment payback time can be less than 3 years.