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Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS...
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Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2018) | Viewed by 64514

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yupeng Wu

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Interests: smart windows; building integrated PV systems; thermal energy storage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Lingzhi Xie

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Institute of New Energy and Low-Carbon Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Interests: building integrated photovoltaic; mechanical behavior of the infrastructural facilities; hydraulic fracture of shale gas exploitation
Prof. Dr. Jie Ji

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Thermal and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Interests: solar thermal conversion; solar photovoltaic/thermal technology; building energy systems and green building; refrigeration and air conditioning systems; heating and ventilation
Dr. John Kaiser Calautit

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Interests: sustainable buildings; passive technologies; computational fluid dynamics modelling; building energy simulation; thermal performance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jing Li

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Interests: organic rankine cycle; solar thermal power generation; solar collector; photovoltaic/thermal systems; combined cooling; heating and power systems
Dr. Yanyi Sun

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Interests: building daylight and energy performance prediction; advanced building façade technologies; building simulation and survey; building integrated PV systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Solaris conference network provides a platform for meetings for professionals researching areas of solar radiation and daylighting to meet, solar energy conversion systems and efficient energy use in the built environment. It has a long tradition of organizing such meetings (Edinburgh 2003, Athens 2005, Delhi 2007, Hong Kong 2008, Brno 2011, Granada 2013, Maribor 2015 and London 2017). The conference aims to present the state-of-the-art in the solar energy and building energy research, to establish close contact amongst researchers for dissemination of their research outcomes and facilitate professional collaboration. For better dissemination of the technologies and methods related to solar energy and built environment, high-quality papers selected from the 9th edition of the international SOLARIS conference will be published in this Special Issue. Topics include, but are not limited to:

  1. Solar radiation measurement and modelling;
  2. Daylighting modelling and measurement;
  3. Solar thermal energy conversion;
  4. Solar photovoltaic (PV) generation;
  5. Solar energy materials;
  6. Solar technologies for buildings;
  7. Energy storage;
  8. Near zero energy buildings and efficient energy use in the built environment;
  9. District heating/cooling, and
  10. Solar energy markets and political aspects of solar development.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yupeng Wu
Prof. Lingzhi Xie
Prof. Jie Ji
Dr John Kaiser Calautit
Dr Jing Li
Dr Yanyi Sun
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Solar energy
  • Built environment
  • Daylight
  • Energy efficient buildings

Published Papers (15 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2932 KiB  
Article
LCOE Analysis of Tower Concentrating Solar Power Plants Using Different Molten-Salts for Thermal Energy Storage in China
by Xiaoru Zhuang, Xinhai Xu, Wenrui Liu and Wenfu Xu
Energies 2019, 12(7), 1394; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12071394 - 11 Apr 2019
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 6300
Abstract
In recent years, the Chinese government has vigorously promoted the development of concentrating solar power (CSP) technology. For the commercialization of CSP technology, economically competitive costs of electricity generation is one of the major obstacles. However, studies of electricity generation cost analysis for [...] Read more.
In recent years, the Chinese government has vigorously promoted the development of concentrating solar power (CSP) technology. For the commercialization of CSP technology, economically competitive costs of electricity generation is one of the major obstacles. However, studies of electricity generation cost analysis for CSP systems in China, particularly for the tower systems, are quite limited. This paper conducts an economic analysis by applying a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) model for 100 MW tower CSP plants in five locations in China with four different molten-salts for thermal energy storage (TES). The results show that it is inappropriate to build a tower CSP plant nearby Shenzhen and Shanghai. The solar salt (NaNO3-KNO3, 60-40 wt.%) has lower LCOE than the other three new molten-salts. In order to calculate the time when the grid parity would be reached, four scenarios for CSP development roadmap proposed by International Energy Agency (IEA) were considered in this study. It was found that the LCOE of tower CSP would reach the grid parity in the years of 2038–2041 in the case of no future penalties for the CO2 emissions. This study can provide support information for the Chinese government to formulate incentive policies for the CSP industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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11 pages, 3844 KiB  
Article
Application of Silicon Oxide on High Efficiency Monocrystalline Silicon PERC Solar Cells
by Shude Zhang, Yue Yao, Dangping Hu, Weifei Lian, Hongqiang Qian, Jiansheng Jie, Qingzhu Wei, Zhichun Ni, Xiaohong Zhang and Lingzhi Xie
Energies 2019, 12(6), 1168; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12061168 - 26 Mar 2019
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4523
Abstract
In the photovoltaic industry, an antireflection coating consisting of three SiNx layers with different refractive indexes is generally adopted to reduce the reflectance and raise the efficiency of monocrystalline silicon PERC (passivated emitter and rear cell) solar cells. However, for SiNx [...] Read more.
In the photovoltaic industry, an antireflection coating consisting of three SiNx layers with different refractive indexes is generally adopted to reduce the reflectance and raise the efficiency of monocrystalline silicon PERC (passivated emitter and rear cell) solar cells. However, for SiNx, a refractive index as low as about 1.40 cannot be achieved, which is the optimal value for the third layer of a triple-layer antireflection coating. Therefore, in this report the third layer is replaced by SiOx, which possesses a more appropriate refractive index of 1.46, it and can be easily integrated into the SiNx deposition process with the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. Through simulation and analysis with SunSolve, three different thicknesses were selected to construct the SiOx third layer. The replacement of 15 nm SiNx with 30 nm SiOx as the third layer of antireflection coating can bring about an efficiency gain of 0.15%, which originates from the reflectance reduction and spectral response enhancement below about 550 nm wavelength. However, because the EVA encapsulation material of the solar module absorbs light in short wavelengths, the spectral response advantage of solar cells with 30 nm SiOx is partially covered up, resulting in a slightly lower cell-to-module (CTM) ratio and an output power gain of only 0.9 W for solar module. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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10 pages, 2237 KiB  
Article
Application of ALD-Al2O3 in CdS/CdTe Thin-Film Solar Cells
by Guanggen Zeng, Xia Hao, Shengqiang Ren, Lianghuan Feng and Qionghua Wang
Energies 2019, 12(6), 1123; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12061123 - 22 Mar 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3150
Abstract
The application of thinner cadmium sulfide (CdS) window layer is a feasible approach to improve the performance of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film solar cells. However, the reduction of compactness and continuity of thinner CdS always deteriorates the device performance. In this work, [...] Read more.
The application of thinner cadmium sulfide (CdS) window layer is a feasible approach to improve the performance of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film solar cells. However, the reduction of compactness and continuity of thinner CdS always deteriorates the device performance. In this work, transparent Al2O3 films with different thicknesses, deposited by using atomic layer deposition (ALD), were utilized as buffer layers between the front electrode transparent conductive oxide (TCO) and CdS layers to solve this problem, and then, thin-film solar cells with a structure of TCO/Al2O3/CdS/CdTe/BC/Ni were fabricated. The characteristics of the ALD-Al2O3 films were studied by UV–visible transmittance spectrum, Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The light and dark J–V performances of solar cells were also measured by specific instrumentations. The transmittance measurement conducted on the TCO/Al2O3 films verified that the transmittance of TCO/Al2O3 were comparable to that of single TCO layer, meaning that no extra absorption loss occurred when Al2O3 buffer layers were introduced into cells. Furthermore, due to the advantages of the ALD method, the ALD-Al2O3 buffer layers formed an extremely continuous and uniform coverage on the substrates to effectively fill and block the tiny leakage channels in CdS/CdTe polycrystalline films and improve the characteristics of the interface between TCO and CdS. However, as the thickness of alumina increased, the negative effects of cells were gradually exposed, especially the increase of the series resistance (Rs) and the more serious “roll-over” phenomenon. Finally, the cell conversion efficiency (η) of more than 13.0% accompanied by optimized uniformity performances was successfully achieved corresponding to the 10 nm thick ALD-Al2O3 thin film. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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29 pages, 23671 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Courtyards on the Thermal Performance of a Vernacular House in a Hot-Summer and Cold-Winter Climate
by Shimeng Hao, Changming Yu, Yuejia Xu and Yehao Song
Energies 2019, 12(6), 1042; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12061042 - 18 Mar 2019
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7108
Abstract
Achieving comfort in hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) climate zones can be challenging, since the climate is characterized by high temperatures in the summer and relatively colder temperatures in the winter. Courtyards, along with other semi-open spaces such as verandas and overhangs, [...] Read more.
Achieving comfort in hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) climate zones can be challenging, since the climate is characterized by high temperatures in the summer and relatively colder temperatures in the winter. Courtyards, along with other semi-open spaces such as verandas and overhangs, play an important role in mitigating outdoor climate fluctuations. In this research, the effects of courtyards on the thermal performance of vernacular houses in HSCW climate zones were studied via field measurements and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. The selected courtyard house was a representative vernacular timber dwelling situated in the southeast of Chongqing, China. The indoor and outdoor air temperature measurements revealed that the courtyard did play an active role as a climatic buffer and significantly reduced the temperature’s peak value in the summer, while during the winter, the courtyard prevented the surrounding rooms from receiving direct solar radiation, and thus to some extent acted as a heat barrier. The contributions of thermal mass are quite limited in this area, due to insufficient solar radiation in winter and general building operations. The natural ventilation mechanism of courtyard houses in HSCW zones was further studied through CFD simulations. The selected opened courtyard was compared to an enclosed structure with similar building configurations. The airflow patterns driven by wind and buoyancy effects were first simulated separately, and then together, to illustrate the ventilation mechanisms. The simulation results show that the courtyard’s natural ventilation behavior benefited from the proper openings on ground level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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15 pages, 5103 KiB  
Article
Thermal Comfort Evaluation of Rooms Installed with STPV Windows
by Hao Tian, Wei Zhang, Lingzhi Xie, Zhichun Ni, Qingzhu Wei, Xinwen Wu, Wei Wang and Mo Chen
Energies 2019, 12(5), 808; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12050808 - 28 Feb 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2848
Abstract
Thermal comfort is an important aspect to take into consideration for the indoor environment of a building integrated with a semi-transparent Photovoltaics (STPV) system. The thermal comfort of units with photovoltaic windows and that of conventional windows, which is an ordinary without PV, [...] Read more.
Thermal comfort is an important aspect to take into consideration for the indoor environment of a building integrated with a semi-transparent Photovoltaics (STPV) system. The thermal comfort of units with photovoltaic windows and that of conventional windows, which is an ordinary without PV, were evaluated via on-site tests and questionnaires. Using the thermal comfort investigation of the test rig, the maximum difference in air temperature was found to be around 5 °C between test unit and comparison unit. The predicted mean vote (PMV)–predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD) value of the test unit was better than that of the comparison unit. It was observed that on sunny days, the PMV value ranged from 0.2 (nature) to 1.3 (slightly warm) in the test unit, and that of the comparison unit was 0.7 (slightly warm) to 2.0 (warm), thereby providing better thermal comfort, especially during mornings. The maximum difference in PPD values was found to reach 27% between the two units at noon. On cloudy days, the difference was negligible, and the thermal sensation between the foot and the head were almost the same. Fifty respondents were asked to complete a carefully designed questionnaire. The thermal sensation of the test unit was better than that of comparison unit, which corresponded with the test results. Thermal, lighting, acoustic, and other environment comfort scores were combined, and the acceptance of the test unit with the STPV windows was found to be 73.8%. The thermal sensation difference between men and women was around 5%. Thus, during summer, STPV windows can improve the thermal comfort and potentially reduce the air-conditioning load. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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14 pages, 5040 KiB  
Article
Glazing Sizing in Large Atrium Buildings: A Perspective of Balancing Daylight Quantity and Visual Comfort
by Jie Li, Qichao Ban, Xueming (Jimmy) Chen and Jiawei Yao
Energies 2019, 12(4), 701; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12040701 - 21 Feb 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 7525
Abstract
Due to the multiple benefits on energy, well-being, comfort, and the economy, the utilization of daylight remains an imperative topic of architectural design. With the remarkable ability of drawing and increasing daylight deep into the core of buildings, atriums with a large proportion [...] Read more.
Due to the multiple benefits on energy, well-being, comfort, and the economy, the utilization of daylight remains an imperative topic of architectural design. With the remarkable ability of drawing and increasing daylight deep into the core of buildings, atriums with a large proportion of glazing have become one of the most preferred design forms. The concomitant and unexpected visual discomfort in modern buildings, however, has drawn increasing concerns. Therefore, this study investigated the relation between glazing proportion and daylight performance, as well as the impact of building height and atrium types on daylight performance in atrium buildings by using an annual dynamic simulation method and metrics. It was found that extending glazing proportion had prominent effectiveness in the enhancement of daylighting; building height had a negative influence; round and square types of buildings performed much better than rectangular ones. Moreover, to inform a practical design, we analyzed the link between increasing daylight and visual comfort from the perspective of balancing them, and then proposed a design guide for atrium roof-glazing sizing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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9 pages, 1388 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Thermal Treatment on Light-Induced Degradation of Multicrystalline Silicon PERC Solar Cell
by Shude Zhang, Jiaqi Peng, Hongqiang Qian, Honglie Shen, Qingzhu Wei, Weifei Lian, Zhichun Ni, Jiansheng Jie, Xiaohong Zhang and Lingzhi Xie
Energies 2019, 12(3), 416; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12030416 - 29 Jan 2019
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3946
Abstract
Multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) PERC (passivated emitter and rear cell) solar cells suffer from severe light-induced degradation (LID), which mainly consists of two mechanisms, namely, BO-LID (boron–oxygen complex-related LID) and LeTID (light and elevated temperature induced degradation). The impact of thermal treatment on the [...] Read more.
Multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) PERC (passivated emitter and rear cell) solar cells suffer from severe light-induced degradation (LID), which mainly consists of two mechanisms, namely, BO-LID (boron–oxygen complex-related LID) and LeTID (light and elevated temperature induced degradation). The impact of thermal treatment on the LID of a mc-Si PERC solar cell is investigated in this work. The LID of mc-Si PERC solar cells could be alleviated by lowering the peak temperature of thermal treatment (namely sintering), perhaps because fewer impurities present in mc-Si tended to dissolve into interstitial atoms, which have the tendency to form LeTID-related recombination active complexes. The LID could also be effectively restrained by partially replacing the boron dopant with gallium, which is ascribed to the decreased amount of boron–oxygen (B–O) complexes. This work provides a facile way to solve the severe LID problem in mc-Si PERC solar cells in mass production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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11 pages, 2316 KiB  
Article
The Band Structures of Zn1−xMgxO(In) and the Simulation of CdTe Solar Cells with a Zn1−xMgxO(In) Window Layer by SCAPS
by Xu He, Lili Wu, Xia Hao, Jingquan Zhang, Chunxiu Li, Wenwu Wang, Lianghuan Feng and Zheng Du
Energies 2019, 12(2), 291; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12020291 - 18 Jan 2019
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4083
Abstract
Wider band-gap window layers can enhance the transmission of sunlight in the short-wavelength region and improve the performance of CdTe solar cells. In this work, we investigated the band structure of In-doped Zn1−xMgxO (ZMO:In) by using first-principles calculations with [...] Read more.
Wider band-gap window layers can enhance the transmission of sunlight in the short-wavelength region and improve the performance of CdTe solar cells. In this work, we investigated the band structure of In-doped Zn1−xMgxO (ZMO:In) by using first-principles calculations with the GGA + U method and simulated the performance of ZMO:In/CdTe devices using the SCAPS program. The calculation results show that with the increased Mg doping concentration, the band gap of ZMO increases. However, the band gap of ZMO was decreased after In incorporation due to the downwards shifted conduction band. Owing to the improved short circuit current and fill factor, the conversion efficiency of the ZMO:In-based solar cells show better performance as compared with the CdS-based ones. A highest efficiency of 19.63% could be achieved owing to the wider band gap of ZMO:In and the appropriate conduction band offset (CBO) of ~0.23 eV at ZMO:In/CdTe interface when the Mg concentration x approaches 0.0625. Further investigations on thickness suggest an appropriate thickness of ZMO:In (x = 0.0625) in order to obtain better device performance would be 70–100 nm. This work provides a theoretical guidance for designing and fabricating highly efficient CdTe solar cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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10 pages, 1874 KiB  
Article
Composites with Excellent Insulation and High Adaptability for Lightweight Envelopes
by Liang Guo, Wenbin Tong, Yexin Xu and Hong Ye
Energies 2019, 12(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12010053 - 25 Dec 2018
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2619
Abstract
Lightweight insulation materials are widely used in lightweight buildings, cold-chain vehicles and containers. A kind of insulation composite, which can combine the super insulation of state-of-the-art insulation materials or structures and the machinability or adaptability of traditional insulation materials, was proposed. The composite [...] Read more.
Lightweight insulation materials are widely used in lightweight buildings, cold-chain vehicles and containers. A kind of insulation composite, which can combine the super insulation of state-of-the-art insulation materials or structures and the machinability or adaptability of traditional insulation materials, was proposed. The composite consists of two components, i.e., polyurethane (PU) foam as the base material and vacuum insulation panel (VIP) or silica aerogel as the core material. The core material is in plate shape and covered with the base material on all sides. The thermal conductivity of the core material is nearly one order lower than that of the base material. The effective thermal conductivity of the insulation composite was explored by simulation. Simulation results show that the effective thermal conductivity of the composite increases with the increase of the thermal conductivity of the core material. The effective thermal conductivities of the composites decrease with the increase of the cross-section area of the core material perpendicular to heat flow direction and the thicknesses of the core material parallel with heat flow direction. These rules can be elucidated by a series-parallel mode thermal resistance network method, which was verified by the measured results. For composite with a VIP as the core material, when the cross-section area and thickness of the VIP are respectively larger than 60% and 21% of the composite, the composite’s effective thermal conductivity can be 50% or less than that of the base material. Simulated heat loss of the envelope adopting the insulation composites with VIP as the core material is nearly a half of that of the envelope adopting traditional insulation materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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17 pages, 5830 KiB  
Article
A Group Approach of Smart Hybrid Poles with Renewable Energy, Street Lighting and EV Charging Based on DC Micro-Grid
by Jiawei Yao, Yongming Zhang, Zhe Yan and Li Li
Energies 2018, 11(12), 3445; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11123445 - 09 Dec 2018
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4001
Abstract
Energy crisis and environmental pollution have become global problems, and the increasing use of energy has caused climate change. Electric vehicle (EV) is regarded as the future of the automotive industry, because of the lesser impact on the environment than traditional vehicles. In [...] Read more.
Energy crisis and environmental pollution have become global problems, and the increasing use of energy has caused climate change. Electric vehicle (EV) is regarded as the future of the automotive industry, because of the lesser impact on the environment than traditional vehicles. In recent years, electric vehicles have developed rapidly. However, the development of charging points and service cannot adapt to the development trend of EV. In urban areas, the distribution characteristics of street lighting and charging points are similar. Therefore, the street lighting pole with EV charging is proposed. However, due to the capacity limit of public grid, the single hybrid pole is only suitable for slow charging. This paper proposes hybrid poles group based on renewable energy, street lighting, and EV charging, which can realize fast charging and slow charging based on DC micro-grid with help of energy storage device. For studying the suitable number in a group of smart hybrid pole, the efficiency model of smart hybrid poles group is proposed. The efficiency model indicates that the group approach has better performance than the single pole, which provides a theoretical basis for practical construction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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16 pages, 1551 KiB  
Article
Experimental and Theoretical Research on Bending Behavior of Photovoltaic Panels with a Special Boundary Condition
by Tengyuan Zhang, Lingzhi Xie, Yongxue Li, Tapas K. Mallick, Qingzhu Wei, Xia Hao and Bo He
Energies 2018, 11(12), 3435; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11123435 - 07 Dec 2018
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4497
Abstract
Currently, the photovoltaic (PV) panels widely manufactured on market are composed of stiff front and back layers and the solar cells embedded in a soft polymeric interlayer. The wind and snow pressure are the usual loads to which working PV panels need to [...] Read more.
Currently, the photovoltaic (PV) panels widely manufactured on market are composed of stiff front and back layers and the solar cells embedded in a soft polymeric interlayer. The wind and snow pressure are the usual loads to which working PV panels need to face, and it needs the panels keep undamaged under those pressure when they generate electricity. Therefore, an accurate and systematic research on bending behavior of PV panels is important and necessary. In this paper, classical lamination theory (CLT) considering soft interlayer is applied to build governing equations of the solar panel. A Rayleigh–Rita method is modified to solve the governing equations and calculate the static deformation of the PV panel. Different from many previous researches only analyzing simply supported boundary condition for four edges, a special boundary condition which consists of two opposite edges simply supported and the others two free is studied in this paper. A closed form solution is derived out and used to do the numerical calculation. The corresponding bending experiments of PV panels are completed. Comparing the numerical results with experiment results, the accuracy of the analytical solutions are verified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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13 pages, 3466 KiB  
Article
Study on the Energy Saving Potential for Semi-Transparent PV Window in Southwest China
by Hao Tian, Wei Zhang, Lingzhi Xie, Yupeng Wu, Yanyi Sun, Mo Chen, Wei Wang and Xinwen Wu
Energies 2018, 11(11), 3239; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11113239 - 21 Nov 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3404
Abstract
To study Semi-Transparent photovoltaic (STPV) windows, experiments were conducted to test the energy potential of STPV window installed in buildings. Two identical rooms were built up as experimental units; one was fitted with amorphous silicon (a-silicon) photovoltaic (PV) windows, and another was fitted [...] Read more.
To study Semi-Transparent photovoltaic (STPV) windows, experiments were conducted to test the energy potential of STPV window installed in buildings. Two identical rooms were built up as experimental units; one was fitted with amorphous silicon (a-silicon) photovoltaic (PV) windows, and another was fitted with a conventional window. The interactional influence was analyzed among air conditioning energy consumption, lighting energy consumption, and energy generation. It can be concluded that STPV windows could provide 0.26 kWh/per day and save 29% on comprehensive building load on a typical sunny day. In order to further investigate, buildings installed with STPV windows in four typical cities with different climate environments in southwest China were simulated and analyzed. The cooling load of the buildings were all decreased while the heating energy consumption and lighting energy consumption were lightly increased. The energy generation of STPV windows was highest in Lhasa at 402.1 kWh/year. The energy saving potential of STPV windows was predicted with good values; 54% in Kunming. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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19 pages, 3978 KiB  
Article
A Hybrid Building Power Distribution System in Consideration of Supply and Demand-Side: A Short Overview and a Case Study
by Yongming Zhang, Zhe Yan, Li Li and Jiawei Yao
Energies 2018, 11(11), 3082; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11113082 - 08 Nov 2018
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4308
Abstract
As the quantity of direct current (DC) load and wireless power transmission (WPT) devices are continuously increasing in building, in order to efficiently utilize renewable energy (which outputs DC power) such as photovoltaic (PV), especially for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV), and regeneration energy [...] Read more.
As the quantity of direct current (DC) load and wireless power transmission (WPT) devices are continuously increasing in building, in order to efficiently utilize renewable energy (which outputs DC power) such as photovoltaic (PV), especially for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV), and regeneration energy from elevators (which also outputs DC power), a novel building power distribution system architecture is explored in consideration of the characteristics of supply and demand-side in this paper. The proposed architecture is a hybrid framework integrated with conventional alternating current (AC) power distribution system, DC power distribution and WPT system. The applied AC and DC hybrid power distribution system has higher conversion efficiency than a single AC power system, which indicates that the former is becoming an important trend of building power distribution. In addition, the results of experimental test in a case study suggest that the proposed architecture can provide fine service for efficient application of renewable energy and regeneration energy in building. The obtained results also can serve as a foundation to promote the development of building power distribution system and related practical application in building. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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13 pages, 6873 KiB  
Article
Investigation into Off-Design Performance of a S-CO2 Turbine Based on Concentrated Solar Power
by Di Zhang, Yuqi Wang and Yonghui Xie
Energies 2018, 11(11), 3014; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11113014 - 01 Nov 2018
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2729
Abstract
Research on concentrated solar power (CSP) plants has been increasing in recent years. Supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) has been applied to solar power plants due to its promising physical properties. S-CO2 has a relatively low critical temperature of 31.1 °C [...] Read more.
Research on concentrated solar power (CSP) plants has been increasing in recent years. Supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) has been applied to solar power plants due to its promising physical properties. S-CO2 has a relatively low critical temperature of 31.1 °C and owns high density in the supercritical region. Hence, it is a vital working fluid in the application of low temperature heat source and miniature power equipment. Due to the fact that solar power system has a constantly changing heat source according to season and weather, a satisfactory off-design performance is necessary for the turbine in a solar power system. In this work, a S-CO2 radial-inflow turbine based on CSP is designed. A thorough numerical analysis of the turbine is then performed. To investigate the off-design performance of this turbine, three types of nozzle profiles with different leading edge diameters are adopted. Mach number, temperature and pressure distribution are covered to present the off-design effect with different nozzle profiles. Moreover, the relation of output power, mass flow rate and efficiency with different leading edge diameter (LED) are analyzed. Results show that different LED has a vital influence on the aerodynamic characteristics and off-design performance of the S-CO2 turbine based on CSP. In addition, the designed turbine with LED = 4 mm can obtain the highest mass flow rate and output power. While the turbine with LED = 10 mm provides slightly better off-design efficiency for CSP plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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13 pages, 5082 KiB  
Article
Transient Performance Analysis of the Solar Optical Guide Lighting System in Building Groups
by Fei Cao, Heng Zhang, Hao Zhou and Na Lu
Energies 2018, 11(11), 2898; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11112898 - 25 Oct 2018
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2580
Abstract
With accelerating urbanization, lighting problems frequently appears for residents at lower levels of buildings. In order to solve the sunlight blocking problem between high buildings, a new solar optical guide lighting (SOGL) system is proposed in this study. Numerical simulations are carried out [...] Read more.
With accelerating urbanization, lighting problems frequently appears for residents at lower levels of buildings. In order to solve the sunlight blocking problem between high buildings, a new solar optical guide lighting (SOGL) system is proposed in this study. Numerical simulations are carried out to evaluate the SOGL system according to the light distribution both inside the buildings and between building groups at different times. Experimental setups are built to validate the simulated results. Main factors influencing the optical efficiency are discussed. It is found from this study that the SOGL system can realize the lighting purpose inside and between high buildings. The shadow areas between buildings are lightened into acceptable levels. The stronger the solar irradiation is, the higher the optical efficiency would be. And decreasing the ratio of optical guide pipe length to its radius would lead to the rise of optical efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference)
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