Study the performance of V-Trough PV solar system with two axis tracking

Abstract

The photovoltaic solar energy is an attractive technology today for producing electricity, improving this source is an encouraged idea for increasing the output power of this solar module. In this work, a 330W, 2mx1m polycrystalline solar module was characterized to increase the performance efficiency by using the V-Trough concentrator which consists of two optical reflectors that made of aluminum with 90% reflectivity for solar spectrum. The two optical reflectors of 2*2m2 were installed as a V–Trough shape on the solar module with concentrating ratio 2X. Besides that, the X-Y tracking system was used to enhance the performance of the above solar module (Concentrating PV Tracking module (CPVT)). The output power was calculated via measuring the short circuit current and the open circuit voltage of a reference solar module (PVR) that installed by 30° tilt angle with the horizon at the south direction and without using the X-Y tracking system (fixed). The same output power was calculated with respect to the solar module that combined with the V-Trough concentrator and X-Y tracking system. The average power gain was estimated to 91% more than the reference module. So using the V-Trough Concentrated PV solar module with using the X-Y Tracking technique will enable engineers to reduce the amount of solar modules, which will reduce the cost of purchasing and reduce the area of instillation.