Abstract
Piecewise linear parabolic trough collector (PLPTC) is designed and developed to concentrate solar radiation on monocrystalline silicon based photovoltaic module. A theoretical model is used to perform electrical energy and exergy analysis of low-concentration photovoltaic (LCPV) system working under actual test conditions (ATC). The exergy efficiency of LCPV system is in the range from 5.1% to 4.82% with increasing rate of input exergy rate from 30.81 W to 96.12 W, when concentration ratio changes from 1.85 to 5.17 Sun. Short-circuit current shows increasing trend with increasing input exergy rate of≈0.011 A/W. Power conversion efficiency decreases from 7.07 to 5.66%, and open-circuit voltage decreases from 9.86 to 8.24 V with temperature coefficient of voltage≈-0.021 V/K under ATC. The results confirm that the commercially available silicon solar PV module performs satisfactorily under low concentration.
Highlights
Silicon based solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is emerging as a potential renewable energy source for future power requirements
Since the cell temperature changes with the increase in the input exergy rate, it is imperative to design the low-concentration photovoltaic (LCPV) system based on this information, so that useful exergy can be maximized
It is very important to track maximum power point, which depends on dynamic resistance of LCPV system
Summary
Silicon based solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is emerging as a potential renewable energy source for future power requirements. There are several ways by which the cost of this technology can be reduced, for example, improving the efficiency, efficient light trapping, using thinner wafer, thin-film silicon technology, concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology, and so forth. The III–V compound based multi-junction solar cells are quite expensive [4], and for bringing them to commercial level, it needs a geometrical concentration ratio (CR) of greater than 500. The higher the concentration ratio, the greater the accuracy needed in tracking the Sun and the smaller the manufacturing and installation tolerances permitted. This means that high efficiency and high concentration concepts need very accurate systems, including their manufacture, installation, and Sun tracking which increases their cost
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