Luminescent Solar Concentrator Photovoltaics

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 6673

Special Issue Editor

1. Department of Design, Production and Management, Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
2. Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Interests: sustainable energy systems, product design, photovoltaics, smart energy products, smart grids, PV modules, PV performance, electricity, innovation, and sustainable development
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

For this Special Issue of the journal Applied Sciences, authors are invited to submit manuscripts covering research on luminescent solar concentrator photovoltaics (LSC PV), ranging from material science on various materials in LSC PV devices, such as luminophores, also called dyes, polymers, and photovoltaic materials, to device physics of various LSC PV configurations and their performance in relation to irradiance conditions, applications of LSC PV in modules, systems and buildings, indoor characterization, and outdoor monitoring. The aim of this Special Issue is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as possible such that they can be reproduced. If possible, a validation of simulated results should be included in a manuscript. Manuscripts containing design-driven research results are in particular welcome in this Special Issue. There is no restriction on the length of the papers.

Prof. Dr. Angele Reinders
Guest Editor

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. Applied Sciences 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 2400 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.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 2966 KiB  
Article
Dual Thermal-/Electrical-Responsive Luminescent ‘Smart’ Window
by Gilles H. Timmermans, Robin F. Douma, Jianbin Lin and Michael G. Debije
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(4), 1421; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10041421 - 20 Feb 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2355
Abstract
As buildings are a large energy user, it is important to not only reduce their consumption, but also have them generate their own electricity. Here, we describe a smart window that could reduce electricity consumption, normally used for air conditioning and lighting, by [...] Read more.
As buildings are a large energy user, it is important to not only reduce their consumption, but also have them generate their own electricity. Here, we describe a smart window that could reduce electricity consumption, normally used for air conditioning and lighting, by absorbing excess solar radiation with dichroic fluorescent dye molecules aligned in a switchable liquid crystal host and guiding the re-emitted light energy to the edges of the device, where it can be used to generate electricity via attached photovoltaic cells. The liquid crystals are responsive both to temperature changes and applied electrical fields. At higher temperatures, transmission decreases due to increased disorder in the liquid crystals, while the application of an electrical field increases transmission by effectively realigning the dyes for minimal absorption. Using alternative configurations, a window with a transparent rest state was also produced, in which transmission can be decreased by applying an electrical field; the thermal response remains identical. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Luminescent Solar Concentrator Photovoltaics)
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10 pages, 1921 KiB  
Article
Simulation of a Novel Configuration for Luminescent Solar Concentrator Photovoltaic Devices Using Bifacial Silicon Solar Cells
by Mohammadreza Aghaei, Marcello Nitti, Ned J. Ekins-Daukes and Angèle H.M.E. Reinders
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(3), 871; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10030871 - 28 Jan 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3726
Abstract
In this study, a novel configuration for luminescent solar concentrator photovoltaic (LSC PV) devices is presented, with vertically placed bifacial PV solar cells made of mono-crystalline silicon (mono c-Si). This LSC PV device comprises multiple rectangular cuboid lightguides, made of poly (methyl methacrylate) [...] Read more.
In this study, a novel configuration for luminescent solar concentrator photovoltaic (LSC PV) devices is presented, with vertically placed bifacial PV solar cells made of mono-crystalline silicon (mono c-Si). This LSC PV device comprises multiple rectangular cuboid lightguides, made of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), containing Lumogen dyes, in particular, either Lumogen red 305 or orange 240. The bifacial solar cells are located in between these lightguide cubes and can, therefore, receive irradiance at both of their surfaces. The main aim of this study is to theoretically determine the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of five differently configured LSC PV devices. For this purpose, Monte Carlo ray tracing simulations were executed to analyze the irradiance at receiving PV cell surfaces, as well as the optical performance of these LSC PV devices. Five different LSC PV devices, with different geometries and varying dye concentrations, were modeled. To maximize the device efficiency, the bifacial cells were also attached to the back side of the lightguides. The ray tracing simulations resulted in a maximum efficiency of 16.9% under standard test conditions (STC) for a 15 × 15 cm2 LSC PV device, consisting of nine rectangular cuboid 5 × 5 × 1 cm3 PMMA lightguides with 5 ppm orange 240 dye, with 12 vertically positioned 5 × 1 cm2 bifacial cells in between the lightguides and nine 5 × 5 cm2 PV cells attached to the back of the device. If the cells are not applied to the back of this LSC PV device configuration, the maximum PCE will be 2.9% (under STC), where the LSC PV device consists of 25 cubical 1 × 1 × 1 cm3 PMMA lightguides with 110 ppm red 305 dye and 40 vertically oriented bifacial PV cells of 1 × 1 cm2 in between the lightguides. These results show the vast future potential for LSC PV technologies, with a higher performance and efficiency than the common threshold PCE for LSC PV devices of 10%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Luminescent Solar Concentrator Photovoltaics)
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