Abstract
A solar simulator has been designed and built for testing prototype (0.5×0.5m) flat plate thermal collectors. An internally reflecting light tube generates multiple virtual images of the four halogen floodlights to ensure uniform illumination. Ray-tracing simulations were used to choose the tube dimensions and maximum allowable clearance. Illumination measurements agree well with these predictions.The visible & near IR spectrum appears to follow a black body curve. In the absence of a “cold sky” IR filter there is a secondary, long wavelength IR spectral component that causes heating of the cover glass on a solar flat plate collector. The cover glass temperature can be maintained at typical outdoor levels using a cooling fan. The design would be well suited to LED illumination.Simulation of solar collector response to this spectrum shows that an efficiency based on pyranometer readings is approximately 1% higher than would be obtained with an AM1.5 spectrum.
Highlights
Solar panels are frequently tested indoors under a solar simulator that provides control of illumination levels and allows these to be maintained in a stable environment
When testing PV cells the illumination spectrum is important since the conversion efficiency is spectrally-dependent; this typically requires the use of specialised lamps, for instance high-pressure xenon discharge bulbs (Dibowski and Eber, 2017), metal halide (Meng et al, 2011; Dong et al, 2015) or LEDs (Kohraku and Kurokawa, 2006; Bliss et al, 2009; Jang and Shin, 2010; Bazzi et al, 2012; Kolberg et al, 2012; Plyta, 2015)
The solar collector is typically mounted at an angle of 11° to the horizontal to avoid any risk of bubbles collecting internally against the upper surface
Summary
Solar panels are frequently tested indoors under a solar simulator that provides control of illumination levels and allows these to be maintained in a stable environment. The illumination for a thermal panel simulator can be provided by low-cost quartzhalogen bulbs (Shatat et al, 2013) These produce a spectrum with a lower colour temperature than sunlight i.e. a larger infra-red component. The illumination should be sufficiently uniform that the mean power over the panel area can be and accurately determined from a number of point measurements This has been achieved using an array of lamps covering an area considerably larger than the test section (Simon, 1976). This is inefficient in terms of the laboratory space requirement and heat input in what should ideally be a temperature-controlled area; there is a risk of a bright spot under each bulb if the bulb to panel distance is small. The simulator described here overcomes these difficulties by using a reflecting light tube
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