Abstract
Due to the demands for energy saving and environmental conservation, the development of sustainable zero-carbon buildings has become an inevitable trend. Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) is a promising technology capable of producing clean electricity onsite and replacing conventional building materials. This paper designs and investigates the performance of a planar Lambertian reflector-based concentrating BIPV system. A comprehensive 3D ray-tracing simulation was applied to study the optical characteristics of the proposed module. It was found that when the geometric concentration ratio is 2.0, the optical efficiency of the investigated Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) module is 62.5% and the radiant flux received by the solar cells is about 1.4 times that of the counterpart module without solar concentrators. Through parametric analyses, it was concluded that the optical performance can be enhanced by selecting a suitable glass thickness and type, integrating the glazing cover with edge mirrors, adjusting the distance between the solar cells and improving the reflectivity of the Lambertian reflectors. Comparative analysis was also conducted for the CPV systems integrated with Lambertian and v-groove rear reflectors under different incident light angles, respectively. It was confirmed that the system integrated with Lambertian rear reflectors shows less angular dependence.
Highlights
Nowadays, the world is facing the problems of energy shortage, environmental pollution, and global warming
A 3D ray-tracing model is developed for a novel planar Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) system comprising of two glass panes, 10 mono-facial solar cells and Lambertian reflectors installed between the solar cells
When the incidental solar radiation is 1000 W/m2, the radiant flux received by the solar cells in the proposed CPV system is 9 W, which is 1.4 times over its counterpart PV module without a solar concentrator
Summary
The world is facing the problems of energy shortage, environmental pollution, and global warming. Used a ray-tracing simulation to characterize the optical behaviour of a flattwo planar CPV modules with 36 bifacial solar cells and white-diffuse rear reflectors, and compared plate solar concentrator a solar. Conventional module was integrated with a rear reflectors, and compared the electrical performance of the solar cells with, and without, solar glass cover that has a lens array on the front side and a reflector (metal or white-diffuse paint) aon the concentrator. The incident light can be funneled through the aperture in the can potentially be integrated into the building envelope components such as roof, wall façade, and reflector, and collected byand theeffective solar cells or recycled. The optical performance of the planar CPV systems with Lambertian and v-groove rear reflectors are, respectively, investigated at different solar. Lambertian and v-groove rear reflectors are, respectively, investigated at different solar zenith angles and solar azimuths
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