Search Results (3)

This research presents a highly transparent concentrator photovoltaic system with solar spectral splitting for dual land use applications. The system includes a freeform lens array and a planar waveguide. Sunlight is first concentrated by the lens array and then reaches a flat waveguide. The dichroic mirror with coated prisms is located at each focused area at the bottom of a planar waveguide to split the sunlight spectrum into two spectral bands. The red and blue light, in which photosynthesis occurs at its maximum, passes through the dichroic mirror and is used for agriculture. The remaining spectrums are reflected at the dichroic mirror with coated prisms and collected by the long solar cell attached at one end of the planar waveguide by total internal reflection. Meanwhile, most of the diffused sunlight is transmitted through the system to the ground for agriculture. The system was designed using the commercial optic simulation software LightTools™ (Synopsys Inc., Mountain View, CA, USA). The results show that the proposed system with 200$\times$ concentration can achieve optical efficiency above 82.1% for the transmission of blue and red light, 94.5% for diffused sunlight, which is used for agricultural, and 81.5% optical efficiency for planar waveguides used for power generation. This system is suitable for both high Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) and low DNI areas to provide light for agriculture and electricity generation at the same time on the same land with high efficiency. Full article

In this research, we present a novel design for a large scale spectral splitting concentrator photovoltaic system based on double flat waveguides. The sunlight concentrator consists of a Fresnel lens array and double waveguides. Sunlight is firstly concentrated by Fresnel lenses then reaches an upper flat waveguide (UFW). The dichroic mirror-coated prisms are positioned at each focused area to divide the sunlight spectrum into two bands. The mid-energy (mid E) band is reflected at the prism surface and coupled to the UFW. The GaInP/GaAs dual-junction solar cell is attached at the exit port of the UFW to maximize the electrical conversion efficiency of the mid E band. The low-energy (low E) band is transmitted and reaches a bottom flat waveguide (BFW). The mirror coated prisms are utilized to redirect the mid E band sunlight for coupling with the BFW. The GaInAsP/GaInAs dual-junction solar cell is applied to convert the low E band to electricity. The system was modeled using the commercial optic simulation software LightTools™. The results show that the proposed system can achieve optical efficiencies of 84.02% and 80.01% for the mid E band and low E band, respectively, and a 46.1% electrical conversion efficiency for the total system. The simulation of the system performance and comparison with other PV systems prove that our proposed design is a new approach for a highly efficient photovoltaic system. Full article

Concentrated Photovoltaics (CPV) technology, as an energy saving method which can directly generate electricity from the Sun, has attracted an ever-increasing attention with the deepening worldwide energy crisis. However, operating temperature is one of the main concerns that affect the CPV system. Excess cell temperature causes electrical conversion efficiency loss and cell lifespan decrease. Thus, reasonable cooling methods should decrease the operating temperature and balance the flare inhomogeneity. They also need to display high reliability, low power consumption, and convenient installation. This paper presented the architectural, commercial, and industrial usage of CPV system, reviewed the recent research developments of different cooling techniques of CPV systems during last few years, including the spectral beam splitting technology, cogeneration power technology, commonly used and promising cooling techniques, active and passive cooling methods. It also analysed the design considerations of the cooling methods in CPV systems, introduced the classification and basic working principles and provided a thorough compilation of different cooling techniques with their advantages, current research limitations, challenges, and possible further research directions. The aim of this work is to find the research gap and recommend feasible research direction of cooling technologies for CPV systems. Full article