Visual Appearance of Nanocrystal-Based Luminescent Solar Concentrators.

Panagiotis Moraitis,Wilfried Sark,Gijs Leeuwen

doi:10.3390/ma12060885

Panagiotis Moraitis, Wilfried Sark + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12060885

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Journal: Materials	Publication Date: Mar 16, 2019
Citations: 13	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Utrecht University

Abstract

The luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) is a promising concept for the integration of photovoltaic (PV) generators into the building envelope. Having the form of semitransparent plates, LSCs offer a high degree of flexibility and can be used as windows or facades, as part of the of building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) industry. Existing performance characterizations of LSC devices focus almost exclusively on electric power generation. However, when used as window components, the transmitted spectrum can alter the color, potentially affecting the visual comfort of the occupants by altering the properties of the sunlight. In this study, eight different state-of-the-art nanocrystals are evaluated as potential candidates for LSC window luminophores, using Monte Carlo simulations. The transparency of each LSC window varies between 90% and 50%, and the color-rendering properties are assessed with respect to the color rendering index (CRI) and the correlated color temperature (CCT). It is found that luminophores with a wide absorption bandwidth in the visible spectrum can maintain a high CRI value (above 85) and CCT values close to the Planckian locus, even for high luminophore concentrations. In contrast, luminophores that only absorb partly in the visible spectrum suffer from color distortion, a situation characterized by low CCT and CRI values, even at high transmittance.

Highlights

In the context of sustainable development, the building sector has attracted increasingly worldwide attention as it consumes more than 30% of the energy produced globally and is responsible for about 40% of both direct and indirect CO2 emissions [1]
Luminophores that only absorb partly in the visible spectrum suffer from color distortion, a situation characterized by low correlated color temperature (CCT) and color rendering index (CRI) values, even at high transmittance
To calculate the efficiency and the colorimetric performance of luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) windows containing the luminophores, as described in Section 3, the method presented in Figure 3 will be followed

Summary

Introduction

In the context of sustainable development, the building sector has attracted increasingly worldwide attention as it consumes more than 30% of the energy produced globally and is responsible for about 40% of both direct and indirect CO2 emissions [1]. Power generation directly from solar radiation is a major step towards sustainable electricity production, providing clean energy without the environmental impact caused by excessive carbon emissions. Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology [4] is growing rapidly and, by the end of 2017, approximately 400 GW of cumulative installed capacity generated more than 460 TWh of electricity, a figure that represents around 2% of the global power output [5]. The leader of this solar revolution is undoubtedly the silicon PV module.

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