Optical and thermal performance of dynamic concentrating solar module for building integration

Abstract

Concentrating solar technology is one of the advanced solar energy utilization approaches. A high magnification (500X) solar concentrating module suitable for dynamic building integration was designed. Light concentrated efficiency of the module was about 65% according to tests. The simulation results showed the efficiency of the module was 78.68% under unbiased incident condition. The maximum temperature of the solar cell could reach 78.49 °C without active airflow cooling. Results showed that the temperature of solar cell and module decreased significantly with the increase of the airflow velocity within 3 m s−1. Comparative study results showed different airflow directions had different effects on the heat dissipation efficiency of different components of the module. Airflow entered from bottom of the module was superior to top and side for solar cell heat dissipation efficiency. Comprehensive consideration, the recommended cooling method for the module was airflow entered from bottom at a speed of 3 m s−1.