Experimental and economical performance investigation of V-trough concentrator with different reflectance characteristic in photovoltaic applications

Abstract

Lack of consideration of photovoltaic panel temperature in a concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) system causes a great misconception and leads to the financial risk of system installation since the increment in PV cell temperature significantly reduces the performance. In this study, an energy-efficient and cost-effective V-trough PV system with low-temperature configuration was proposed to achieve better performance by using easily accessible reflector material instead of the high reflective anodized aluminum reflector with high cost. The concentrating photovoltaic systems were designed, produced, and installed. Anodized aluminum reflector (AAR) protected with nanocomposite using a coil-coating, and polished stainless steel (PSSR) were used as reflector mirrors. The electrical performance parameters of CPVs were experimentally analyzed as a function of cell temperature and compared with a 1-Sun PV system. The net present value (NPV) method was used for the economical evaluation of the system. The results indicate that high reflectivity can cause the temperature elevation in the PV cell thereby decreasing the fill factor, voltage, and power output of the system. The power generation of the AAR-CPV system was about 17.4% lower than that of the 1-Sun PV system due to higher cell temperature. On the other hand, a low reflective PSSR-CPV system generates about 17.84% and 42.7% higher power compared to 1-Sun PV and AAR-CPV systems, respectively. The payback period of PSSR-CPV appears to be 6 years and is equal with that of the PV system on a yearly basis, however, PSSR-CPV yields a greater return. An easily accessible polished stainless steel having reasonable reflectivity may be a better attitude for increasing the incident solar irradiation with a slight increase in the PV cell temperature for a CPV system based upon the economical and experimental analysis for a cost-effective and energy-efficient design of CPV technology.