Static Linear Fresnel Lenses as LCPV System in a Greenhouse

Abstract

A low concentrating PV system with water cooling (LCPVT system) will result in electrical and thermal energy output from the solar energy excess entering a building or greenhouse. All the direct radiation could be converted, which corresponds to 75% of the incoming solar energy. This will significantly reduce the demand of cooling of the building. For an optimal performance it is beneficial to construct asymmetric roof elements with a steep inclination at the north side (the exact angle of course depends on the latitude of the building site). The Fresnel lens structure is oriented in upwards direction. In the current design, two of them are placed between an AR‐coated double glass structure to prevent pollution and condensation on the lenses. Compared with a previous system, the number of lenses is reduced from 3 to 2 lenses, which reduces the costs of the system by limiting the number of receivers. By the upward facing of the lens structure, the focus quality is preserved over a much broader range of angles of incidence compared to a lens with downward facing structures. Each PMMA lens with a size of 1.20 m×1.60 m is composed of 12 ‘tiles’ for easy production. The focal distance of the lens is 1,875 m and the concentration factor 50x. In most cases the focus line is thinner than 3 cm and the transmission is above 80%. The performance of these lenses with respect of the shape of the focal area and the position of the focal line has been analyzed with ray tracing techniques. From this analyses it was concluded that tracking of the receiver module is possible with two motors. One motor controls the distance between lens and receiver and one motor controls the translocation of the receivers parallel to the lens. The second conclusion was that the positions of the focal line are within the bounds of the greenhouse construction for almost the whole year. Only in winter, the focal line will be unreachable from time to time. A 480 m2 greenhouse with the LCPVT system based on Static Fresnel lenses and a 40 m CPVT‐module and a 200 m CT‐module is designed by Bode Project Engineering and constructed by Technokas in Bleiswijk the Netherlands.