Commercial Solar Simulators Research Articles

A Simple Way of Simulating Insolation on a Rotating Body with a Commercial Solar Simulator

The surfaces of all solid bodies in the solar system, planets, moons, comets and asteroids, experience short-term temporal variations of solar irradiation which depend on their respective spin rates. These so-called insolation cycles affect temperature variations, climate, photosynthesis in plants, etc. Hence, experimental reproduction of these cycles is important for space analogue simulations. In this short note we describe a simple, low-cost method to simulate diurnal cycles in the laboratory using a type of commercial solar simulator commonly used for experimental investigation in planetary science.

Angular divergence of solar simulators and its impact on the measured Solar Heat Gain Coefficient of fenestration systems

The solar protection feature of shading devices is characterized by the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) or g-value. Given their complex light-scattering properties, it is advisable to test innovative shading devices calorimetrically in a laboratory. In the case of an indoor calorimetric facility, a solar simulator is required as the light source. The light beam radiated by commercial solar simulators is not parallel and in general more divergent than direct sunlight. This study analyses the impact of the angular divergence of radiation from solar simulators on the experimental determination of the SHGC of fenestration systems. It is shown that this effect is not negligible in many cases. Two methods are proposed for this purpose: (1) an experimental one based on measurements with a luminance camera, and (2) a numerical one based on a digital model of a calorimetric facility. Both methods build on the calculation of contribution coefficients from different regions of the field of view of the sample. The methods can be used to correct the effect of angular divergence on SHGC measurements in the future.

A Three-Terminal Monolithic Perovskite/Si Tandem Solar Cell Characterization Platform

Summary Measuring perovskite/Si tandem cells’ photovoltaic properties is challenging due to intrinsic and extrinsic issues such as the monolithic series connection feature and the spectral mismatch of most commercial solar simulators. Here, we report a simple but effective strategy that involves the application of three-terminal (3-T) architecture to monolithic perovskite/Si tandem cells for comprehensive characterization while circumventing the spectral mismatch issue. We demonstrate that the current density-voltage characteristics and the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of each subcell can be measured independently using 3-T architecture without any light/potential bias. In addition, a comprehensive study of electron dynamics, such as charge recombination kinetics of subcells, has been performed. As a result of reducing optical losses and precise current matching, the monolithic perovskite/Si tandem cell exhibits a power-conversion efficiency of 23.5% (23.1% corrected by EQE) and remarkable stability by maintaining 97% of its initial value after 100 days.

Solar Divergence Collimators for Optical Characterisation of Solar Components

Experimentation and laboratory optical tests on solar components are central aspects of the research on renewable energies. The key element of the proposed testing systems is a solar divergence collimator, which exactly reproduces in laboratory the sunlight divergence, while commercial solar simulators are mainly aimed to replicate intensity and spectrum of the sun. Precise solar divergence reproduction is essential to correctly assess the optical properties and to simulate the operative conditions of a solar collecting device. Optical characterisation and experimentation can give information about production quality and homogeneity; moreover, specific tests can address the serial production of solar components detecting defects type and location. For Concentrating Photovoltaic systems, appropriate tests can analyze solar concentrators of various shapes, dimensions, and collection features. Typically, to characterise a solar component the most important and commonly examined quantities are collection efficiency, image plane analysis, and angle dependence.

Construction of Tungsten Halogen, Pulsed LED, and Combined Tungsten Halogen-LED Solar Simulators for Solar CellI-VCharacterization and Electrical Parameters Determination

I-Vcharacterization of solar cells is generally done under natural sunlight or solar simulators operating in either a continuous mode or a pulse mode. Simulators are classified on three features of irradiance, namely, spectral match with respect to air mass 1.5, spatial uniformity, and temporal stability. Commercial solar simulators use Xenon lamps and halogen lamps, whereas LED-based solar simulators are being developed. In this work, we build and test seven simulators for solar cell characterization, namely, one tungsten halogen simulator, four monochromatic (red, green, blue, and white) LED simulators, one multicolor LED simulator, and one tungsten halogen-blue LED simulator. The seven simulators provide testing at nonstandard test condition. High irradiance from simulators is obtained by employing elevated supply voltage to tungsten halogen lamps and high pulsing voltages to LEDs. This new approach leads to higher irradiance not previously obtained from tungsten halogen lamps and LEDs. FromI-Vcurves, electrical parameters of solar cell are made and corrected based on methods recommended in the IEC 60891 Standards. Corrected values obtained from non-STC measurements are in good agreement with those obtained from Class AAA solar simulator.