Solar PDF

4th International Conference on Solar Concentrators for the Generation of Electricity or Hydrogen
MIRROR REFLECTING COST EFFECTIVE PV SOLAR ENERGY

CONCENTRATING SYSTEM
V. Dallakyan, R.Vardanyan
State Engineering University of Armenia
105 Teryan Str.,375009, Yerevan, Armenia Fax: 3741 545843; E-Mail: rvardan@seua.am
ABSTRACT
Besides the use of lenses, it is also possible to use
To reduce the high cost of photovoltaic (PV) systems mirrors to concentrate sunlight. Solar Systems in Australia
the new cost effective mirror reflecting linear focus type has developed a dish concentrator PV system [5]. The
solar energy concentrating system is developed. The Solar Systems’ reflecting parabolic mirrors are made of
concentrator system consists of flat glass mirrors, placed thin glass sheets, silvered on their rear surfaces, and
under the different angles, and focusing the sun light on to protected in shaped concave aluminum pans. The
the solar sells mounted along the line. The developed PV EUCLIDES concentrating array consists of a mirror
concentrator system has several advantages in reflecting parabolic trough, tracking the sun around the
comparison with widely used other concentrating systems. horizontal axis [6].
It is mostly protected from environmental influences (wind, All these designs are different, having various
dust, rain, hail). Due to the simplified structure of structures, concentrating optics, concentration ratio,
concentrating optics, the standard off-the-shelf tracking systems, solar cells’ cooling designs, and
technologies enable low-cost manufacturing. consequently, they have different costs. Despite of
The cost optimization method and the computer inherent cost reduction property of sun rays’
program for new concentrating systems design is concentration, most existing PV concentrator systems are
developed as well. The program allows to design a PV still expensive.
system with the given output power, having the minimal In this paper the new cost effective mirror reflecting
price. The program can be used for cost effective PV solar type PV solar energy concentrator system is presented.
energy concentrating systems design. Our approach is based on the application of flat glass
mirrors, which are cheap, reliable and enable the low-cost
manufacturing [7].
INTRODUCTION
The high cost of photovoltaic (PV) modules makes STRUCTURE OF PV CONCENTRATOR SYSTEM
the use of concentrators desirable. Optical concentration
offers an attractive approach to reducing PV system’s high The structure of new cost effective PV concentrator
cost by substituting of much of the semiconductor solar system is a mirror reflecting linear focus type. The
cell area by concentrator area. It also offers other concentrator system consists of flat glass mirrors, placed
advantages, including semiconductor solar cell increased under the different angles, and focusing the sun light on to
efficiency. the solar sells mounted along the line.
At present different types of sun concentrator The developed concentrator system has several
systems are used to reduce the high cost of flat PV advantages in comparison with Fresnel lens concentrating
modules. To concentrate solar energy, designers can use optics and mirror reflecting parabolic trough systems. It is
light refraction (using Fresnel lenses) or light reflection mostly protected from environmental influences (wind,
(using mirrors). dust, rain, hail). Due to the simplified structure of
The Fresnel lens can either be a circular lens concentrating optics, the standard off-the-shelf
producing a focused spot on a single cell, or a linear lens technologies enable low-cost manufacturing.
producing a focused line of sunlight on a row of cells.
Amonix (US, California) uses an array of point-focus
Fresnel lenses [1,2]. Fraunhofer ISE (Freiburg, Germany)
and Ioffe Institute (St. Petersburg, Russia) also use point-
focus Fresnel lenses in their concentrator PV designs [3].
The U.S. company ENTECH has developed line-focus
Fresnel lens modules [4]. Each module uses rows of
silicon cells operating at 20-suns concentration.
141
Fig. 1. Initial version of mirror reflecting

linear focus PV concentrator system.
Fig. 2. Home page of computer program.
The initial version of mirror reflecting linear focus PV
concentrator system is prepared and tested in outdoor
conditions during 11 years (Fig. 1). In this system five flat
glass mirrors are used to focus the solar rays on to the line
in a focus distance. The mirrors are reflecting the light
from the one side (the asymmetrical structure). The
ordinary mono-crystalline silicon solar cells with 15%
efficiency are used in this system. The heat sinks are
made of aluminum. The silicon solar cells are soldered to
the copper wafers, which are previously mechanically
connected with the heat sinks. The heat sinks are
electrically isolated from each other. The cells are
connected in series and the output 15 V voltage with
power 60 W is obtained. One axis tracker is used in this
system. During 11years of testing no damages of the PV
system are observed. Fig. 3. Dependence of the cost of PV concentrator
To design the new mirror reflecting cost effective PV system from the concentration rate.
solar energy concentrating systems with different output
powers the special computer program is developed. The For the given values of generated electric power,
program allows to optimize the concentration ratio and to temperatures (ambient and permissible working
design a cost effective PV system, having the minimal temperature of solar cells), parameters of solar cells, and
price. for some other input parameters, the program calculates
the prices of concentration system by changing the
concentration rate in a wide range and shows the value of
COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR OPTIMIZATION AND concentration rate when the minimal price of the system is
COST EFFECTIVE PV SYSTEMS DESIGN obtained. As an example, the concentration rate
optimization curve, obtained for the 1 kW PV system is
The mathematical model of new PV concentrator presented in Fig. 3. The other input parameters as well as
system is developed. All parameters of the system, the the obtained parameters of this PV system are presented
influence of the temperature and concentration ratio on the below in Table. It can be seen from the figure that the
efficiency of solar cells are taken into consideration in this minimal price of PV concentrator system 2.31 $/W is
model. obtained when the concentration rate is 22X. This value of
To determine the optimal concentration rate of mirror concentration is red colored and recommended to
reflecting linear focus PV concentrator systems, the cost designer as an optimal one. Thus, the program allows to
optimization method (algorithm) is developed. The method determine the optimal concentration rate, which provides
is based on the iteration of calculations of the cost of a the minimum price of a mirror reflecting linear focus PV
concentrator system by increasing the concentration rate concentrator system.
in a small amount, starting from the one sun. With With the use of developed optimization method and
increasing the concentration rate the cost of the system computer program, new mirror reflecting cost effective PV
decreases and after passing some minimum (optimal) solar energy concentrating systems are optimized and
value it increases. To realize this optimization and designed. The input parameters and obtained results are
automated design of PV system the computer program presented in Table.
PVCsyst 1.2 is developed. The home page of this program
is presented in Fig. 2.
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Input parameters 1 – Parabolic through PV system with mirror price = 100 $/m2;
2 – Parabolic through PV system with mirror price = 70 $/m2;
Required output power 3 – Flat mirror reflecting PV system with mirror price = 25 $/m2.
1 10 100
(kW)
Solar radiation (W) 1000 1000 1000 The price of new flat mirror reflecting PV solar
energy concentrating system is compared with the price of
Tracker cost ($) 300 300 300 widely used and very similar parabolic trough linear focus
Efficien. of solar cell (%) 15 15 15 PV system (Fig.4). This comparison is realized with the
use of above mentioned program PVCsyst 1.2 and our
Dim. of solar cell (mm) 100x100 100x100 100x100 other program PVCsyst 3.2 developed for optimization and
The cost of solar cell 10 10 10 design of parabolic trough PV systems.
As it could be expected, due to the high price of
Focuse distance (m) 2 2 2 mirrors of parabolic through PV systems the cost for per
Ambient temperature (C) 40 40 40 watt energy of new flat glass mirror reflecting system is
smaller.
Allowed max. operation
65 65 65
temp. (C) CONCLUSION
The cost of miror ($/m2) 25 25 25
The developed new cost effective mirror reflecting
The cost of constructive
5 5 5 type PV solar energy concentrator system has several
materials ($/m)
advantages in comparison with well known systems. It is
Fab. cost of one array ($) 200 200 200 mostly protected from environmental influences (wind,
Transp. & install. ($) 200 20 200 dust, rain, hail) and has the simple structure. Due to the
simplified structure of concentrating optics, the standard
Obtained results off-the-shelf technologies enable low-cost manufacturing.
Cost of PV system ($) 2328 11847 95245 The developed optimization method and computer
program allows to design the cost effective flat mirror
Cost per Watt ($/W) 2.31 1.15 0.94 reflecting linear focus PV solar energy concentrating
Concentration rate 22 29.4 43 systems.
Produced power per day ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

5.5 57.4 583.1
(kW*h)
This work is supported by US Civilian Research and
Number of array 1 2 10
Development Foundation (CRDF) and the Armenian
Dimen. of one array (m) 3x8 4.3 x 19 7.2 x 24 National Foundation for Science and Advanced
Technologies (NFSAT).
It can be seen from the Table that the PV system’s
cost per watt decreases with increasing the output power REFERENCES
of the system. It can be seen also that the costs of the flat
mirror reflecting linear focus PV concentrator systems are [1] Stone K., Garboushian V., Hayden H. “Field
not high in comparison with other well known PV Performance and Reliability Issues of High Concentration
concentrating systems. PV Systems”. 19th European PVSEC, Paris, 2004.
[2] Garboushian V. Continuous “Installation of
Cost ($/W) Concentrating PV in the Southwest”, 1st ICSEC, New
Orleans, 2002.
3 [3] Rumyantsev V., Chalov A., Ionova E., Larionov V.,
Andreev V. “Concentrator PV Modules with Multi-Junction
2.5
Cells and Primary/Secondary Refractive Optical
2 Elements”. 19th European PVSEC, Paris, 2004.
1 [4] Fraas L., McConnell B. “High Power Density
1.5 2
Photovoltaics”. Renewable Energy World. v. 5, n. 5, 2002.
[5] www.edtekinc.com/Products/.../EDTEK_SolarCon.htm
1 [6] Luque J.C., Sala G., Arboiro J.C., Zamorano A.,
3 Minano J.C., Dramsch C. (Instituto de Energia
0.5 Solar.Universidad Politecnica de Madrid), Bruton T.,
Pow er (Watt) Cunningham D. (BP Solar. Middlesex, U.K.) The
0 EUCLIDES Prototype: An Efficient Parabolic Trough for
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 PV Concentration.
[7] Vardanyan R.R. Concentrator of Solar Energy. Patent
Fig. 4. The cost of different PV systems in versus of Armenia No 1739 A2, March, 15, 2006.
output power (focus distance = 1.5 m).
143
DAY4TM PV RECEIVERS AND HEAT SINKS FOR SUN CONCENTRATION

APPLICATIONS
L. Rubin1, V. Nebusov1, Ralf Leutz2, A. Schneider1, A Osipov1, V. Tarasenko1

1
Day4Energy Inc., Suite 101, 5898 Trapp Avenue, Burnaby, BC, V3N 5G4, Canada
2
Physics Department, Philipps-University, Renthof 5, 35037 Marburg, Germany
Author for correspondence: lrubin@day4energy.com, Tel.: +1-604-759-3294, Fax: +1-604-759 3295
ABSTRACT wires become soldered to front side fingers and to rear

side Al thus keeping current collecting bus bars outside
The paper describes performance of Day4™ the perimeter of the solar cell. From the electrical
proprietary linear PV receivers and heat sinks under sun standpoint the electrode wires replace the conventional
concentrated irradiation. Paper demonstrates that novel screen printed bus bars and act as a distributed current
TM
Day4 technology allows modification of conventional collecting system. Depending on cell size and the value of
crystalline silicon PV cells so they can efficiently operate generated current there is the possibility to use either one
under up to 10-suns concentrated irradiation without any bus bar (1-side lay-up) or two bus bars (2-side lay-up) at
increase of their manufacturing cost. The only differences the cell edges.
TM
of these cells with industrially produced ones consists of Several Day4 Electrode parameters like its
different types of front side metallization that contains only resistance and shading may be easily adjusted by
fingers without bus bars and back side that does not changing wire diameter and spacing between neighbored
contain Al/Ag pads. Presented results demonstrate wires which guarantees its efficient employment in
efficient performance of a novel heat sink that maintains different cell applications and cell sizes. For typical solar
the temperature differential below 30°C between the PV cell applications these spacings range from 2 mm to
receiver and ambient even at 10-time concentration and 20 mm while wire diameter may vary in the range of 70-
TM
almost zero wind speed condition. Proposed novel 250 µm. Day4 Electrode technology anticipates that the
concept of PV receivers with heat sink anticipates bus bar is used for cell interconnection in series when a
flexibility in adjustment to different sizes of solar cells and PV receiver or module is fabricated.
types of focusing optics.
SOLAR CELLS FOR UP TO 10-TIMES
INTRODUCTION CONCENTRATION APPLICATION
There are several reasons preventing sun Most important for sun concentrator cell design is to
concentrators becoming economically feasible, namely minimize series resistance thereby preventing fill factor
high costs of specialized PV cells, light focusing optics, decline when light radiation exceeds 1-sun level [2, 3, 4].
trackers and heat sinks. In this paper we will present Our experiments with the Day4 Electrode
TM
results demonstrating the possibility to produce cost demonstrated that the new technology secures stability of
effective PV receivers and heat sinks thereby making the fill factor value close to 79% on standard industrial 6-
concentrator concept more feasible for industrial 2
inch cells that operating under 1000 W/m with Isc value of
production. up to 8.5 A. It was also demonstrated that if these cells are
TM
The key advantage of Day4 technology is the interconnected in series the resulting PV module does not
possibility to modify conventional crystalline silicon PV experience any substantial decline in fill factor value.
cells so they can efficiently operate under up to 10-suns These results emphasize the possibility to use
concentrated irradiation without any increase of their Day4TMElectrode technology to develop and produce PV
manufacturing cost. The only differences of these cells receivers for low concentration applications.
with industrially mass produced ones consists of different The first series of experiments was focused on
types of front side metallization that are comprised of TM
modification of standard solar cells with Day4 Electrodes
fingers without bus bars and back side that contains full that should result in their ability to operate under up to 10-
TM
area BSF without Ag/Al pads. The Day4 Electrode is suns. These experiments were performed with 4-inch Cz
produced by Day4 Energy Inc. as a proprietary product solar cells from former RWE Schott Solar AG that
and is comprised of transparent polymeric film coated with produced cells according to Day4 specification: only with a
adhesive material and having embedded in it copper wires finger grid on the front side and a full Al rear side contact.
coated with low melting point alloy. The electrode wires The 4-inch semi-square cells were diced at Day4 to a size
are electrically connected to metallic bus bar [1]. A of 50x100 mm2. A set of 4-6 cells were used for averaging
conventional lamination process step is used to attach the cells’ parameter variation. The cells were tested indoors at
adhesive layer firmly to the solar cell surfaces after different light intensity levels in a Berger flasher solar
electrode alignment. During this lamination process the
145
simulator by means of changing the distance between the fixed in framing, properly combined with the Fresnel lens
flash lamp and the plane where the tested cell is and illuminated inside the Berger tester using different
positioned. The Berger tester was equipped with a special distances between the light source and Fresnel lens. Such
loading unit allowing testing of single PV cells and small arrangements allowed extending the level of radiation
modules in the range up to 12 A and 24 V. By means of concentration up to 10-suns. Experiments with the PV
special computer simulations the finger spacing and receiver demonstrated that its efficiency closely coincides
distance between wires were optimized in order to achieve with that obtained for individual cell efficiencies: PV
maximum value of fill factor and lowest shading thereby receiver efficiency is kept about 16.3% at 10-suns
securing cell maximum output power in the range of 1-10- radiation level. It was also demonstrated that receiver
suns irradiation. It was estimated that optimum finger output power grew linearly with sun concentration and
spacing for 60 Ohm/sq. emitter is between 1-1.5 mm and reaches 75 W or about 8.3 W per each cell under about
distance between electrode wires between 4-12 mm. 10-suns concentration (Fig. 2).
Upon Day4 Energy specification former RWE Schott 80
solar supplied cells with optimized finger spacing keeping
70
constant other cell parameters like silicon bulk resistance,
cell size and emitter resistance. Experiments showed that 60
cell efficiency reaches maximum value if distance between
50
electrode wires is in the range of 4-6 mm. The results for
P [Watt]
6 mm distance between wires are shown in Fig. 1. 40
17.2
30
17.0
20
16.8
10
Receiver without lense
16.6 Receiver with lense
ETA [%]
0
16.4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
16.2 3 2
x 10 W/m
16.0 Figure 2: Receiver output power with and without Fresnel
15.8 lens under different light intensities.
Optimized Finger spacing
15.6
Wire gap: 6 mm 16
15.4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 14
3 2
x 10 W/m 12
10
Figure 1: Cell efficiency with optimized finger spacing of
Isc [A]
1.2 mm contacted by Day4TMElectrode (wire gap is 6 mm). 8
6
Cell parameters:
The initial cell efficiency of 15.8% at 1-sun gradually Voc = 6.08 V
increases and reaches 16.7% at 4.5-suns. Under higher 4
Isc = 15.6 A
intensities cell efficiency decreases slightly but still stays 2 FF = 79.12 %
above 16.3% even at 10+-suns. The fill factor of cells with
optimized finger distance still stays above 79%. These 0
TM 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
results proved that the Day4 Electrode concept is able to
adapt industrial solar cells to operate efficiently under Voc [V]
intensities up to 10-suns.
Figure 3: I-V curve of PV receiver operated under 10+-
DAY4™ PV RECEIVERS FOR UP TO 10-TIMES times concentration.
CONCENTRATION APPLICATION
Figure 3 shows the IV curve of a PV receiver under 10+-
Cells with optimized finger spacing and distance times concentration. One can see that even at this high
between wires were sorted and a set of 9 cells was concentrated radiation FF value is kept at high value of
connected in series thereby producing a sun concentrator 79.12%. There are strong reasons to believe that even
PV receiver that may be used in PV systems operating at better results may be achieved under up to 20+-times
2
up to 10-suns concentration. Initial PV receiver testing was concentration if more narrow PV cells of 15x100 mm are
performed indoors using a Berger tester and a linear used.
Fresnel lens that was especially designed and built in
cooperation with Dr. Ralf Leutz, Marburg University, DAY4™ PV RECEIVER FOR UP TO 5-TIMES
Germany. Since the PV receiver is about 1 meter long CONCENTRATION APPLICATION
special arrangements were performed in order to achieve
uniform concentrated irradiation. The PV receiver was The same testing procedure was applied for other
146
types of PV receiver that was specially built for 5-times interconnected in series and tested indoors at different
concentration. This receiver comprises of the same former light intensity levels in a Berger flasher solar simulator as
2
RWE Schott Solar AG cells of 50x100 mm each but with described above.
increased 8 mm wire spacing because the current was
expected to be lower due to lower sun concentration level. Table I: PV receivers in-door testing results.
A set of 100 cells was tested using a HALM cell tester. Radiation on receiver Voc Isc Pmpp FF
After sorting these cells were interconnected in series by plane [W/m2] [V] [A] [W] [%]
means of Day4 technology thereby producing a set of PV
1000 16.58 3.28 42.84 78.84
receivers each comprising of 10 cells. These PV receivers
were tested indoors at different light intensity levels in a 2090 17.12 6.86 93.27 79.40
Berger flasher solar simulator by means of changing the 2330 17.23 7.63 103.49 78.68
distance between the flash lamp and the plane where the 2560 17.29 8.39 113.54 78.28
PV receiver being tested was positioned. Detailed results
of this testing are presented in Figure 4 and Figure 5.
Testing results have proved that PV receivers with
proprietary heat sinks are capable of generating power of
8 Receiver 2 113.54 W or 4.21 W per cell under 2560 W/m2 radiation
7 with FF of 78.28% while Isc exceeds 8.39 A. These results
allow estimation of PV receiver efficiency of 14.7% by
6
calculating it as a ratio between power value generated by
5 one receiver and input radiation on receiver plane.
Isc [A]
Outdoor testing was performed using the same 3

4 series-interconnected PV receivers that were illuminated
by concentrated natural solar radiation using a mirror
3
trough concentrator with 3.5 geometrical and 2.77 optical
2 concentrations. Testing conditions were as follows: solar
2
radiation – 985 W/m , ambient temperature 27°C, PV
1
1 2 3 4 5 receiver temperature 57°C, wind speed 0.5 m/sec. Testing
results (Fig. 6) demonstrated that a Day4 PV receiver
Intensity [suns]
comprised of 27 4” Cz cells generates Pmpp=97.5 W
Figure 4: Dependence of Isc value on sun concentration. 2
under solar radiation of 2650 W/m on the receiver plane.
The relatively low FF value of 74.7% was a result of
40 Receiver 2 increased PV receiver temperature from 25°C to 57°C.
35
Keeping in mind that power loss due to increased
temperature is about 16% one may estimate the value of
30 peak power at 25°C: Pmax=116 W or 4.3 W per cell
assuming that optical efficiency is 90% and input radiation
Pmpp [W]
25 2
intensity is 1000 W/m . This assumption is in good
agreement with experimental data presented in Table I
20
obtained under PV receiver testing using a Berger tester.
15 9
10 8
7
5
1 2 3 4 5 6
Current [A]
Intensity [suns] 5
Figure 5: Dependence of Pmpp on sun concentration. 4 Voc = 15.02 V

Isc = 8.7 A
3
Pmpp= 97.5 W
It is evident that the PV receiver continues to perform 2 FF = 74.7 %
efficiently in a wide range of light intensities ranging from Vmpp= 12.02 V
2 1
1000 to 5000 W/m and demonstrates only slight decrease Impp= 8.12 A
of FF from 79.6% to 78.6% although Isc value increases 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
from 1.7 A to almost 8 A and Pmpp grows from 7.80 W to
40.0 W or 4.0 W per each cell. Voltage [V]
DAY4™ PV RECEIVER FOR UP TO 3-TIMES Figure 6: Outdoor testing: I-V characteristics of three PV
CONCENTRATION APPLICATION receivers interconnected in series.
Table I contains testing results of concentrator module Such results have been achieved not only because of
TM
comprising of 3 PV receivers each comprising of 9 Cz 4” unique properties of the Day4 Electrode but also due to
full square cells with attached heat sink that were the efficiency of the proprietary heat sink that managed to
keep PV receiver temperature below 60°C under almost
147
zero wind condition and ambient temperature of 27°C increasing annual electric energy generation. Secondly, a
2
even at concentrated solar radiation of 2770 W/m . A low concentration system may employ less sophisticated
controlled conventional PV panel that was positioned near and low cost 1-axis tilted and even 1-axis horizontal
PV receivers revealed that its temperature under identical trackers without substantial loss of generated energy
testing conditions reaches 53°C thereby confirming that output especially in Southern US and European areas.
the Day4 proprietary heat sink is capable of preserving PV And finally, a low concentration system may employ
concentrator receiver temperature close to those that conventional mass produced PV cells thereby providing a
experienced by a conventional PV panel. realistic promise to make solar electric energy
It is important to stress out that Day4 technology is economically feasible.
able to customize PV receiver geometry including In this work we demonstrated practical possibility to use
modification of cells size and cell number per string, Day4 novel technology to upgrade standard industrial
according to a required specification based on the optical solar cells with Day4™Electrodes thereby making them
system to be employed. applicable for low concentration applications. We further
demonstrated possibility to design and produce linear PV
DAY4™ HEAT SINKS FOR UP TO 10-TIMES receivers within the range of from 3 and up to 20 times
LINEAR CONCENTRATION APPLICATION sun concentration. There are no principle limitations to
develop PV receiver even for slightly higher concentration.
It is well known that when a solar module operates The cost of these PV receivers without heat sink is almost
even under 3-4-suns concentrated radiation and at zero identical to the production cost of Day4™ flat plate PV
wind condition its temperature grows and exceeds modules of the same area although conventional PV
ambient by more than 100°C thereby reaching a level of module generates substantially lower power when
≥ +130°C that eventually may destroy receiver. Besides operating under 1-sun radiation. It is evident that if low
that, FF value also declines. Altogether these effects concentration PV system employs advanced PV cells with
provoke a decrease power output by 0.5%/ºC. In other efficiency about 20% instead of currently available 16%
words if temperature increases by 50°C then power output then overall cost of Wp will be decreased by 25% thus
decreases by 25% if compared with power output at 25°C. coming closer to the target price of $2.00/Wp.
TM
In order to minimize PV receiver overheating a novel In respect to the Day4 manufacturing concept there
efficient heat sink was designed, built and attached to the is no economical or technological difference between
PV receiver rear side via a special electrically insulating producing either sun concentrator PV receiver that
and highly thermally conductive intermediate compound. contains single string of in series connected cells or a flat
Day4 novel sink (patent was filed on May 26th, 2006) is plate PV module. The only difference lies in the distance
made of extruded aluminum components. Its design is between wires in the Day4™Electrode and optimized
characterized not only by high ratio between its weight and spacing between front side fingers in order to achieve
heat dissipating area but also by possibility to compensate maximum power output. In other words: flexibility of the
TM
differential between thermal expansion coefficients of Day4 technological concept makes it possible to
aluminum and glass that covers PV receiver front side. manufacture not a single type but a variety of PV receivers
Special experiments with this heat sink demonstrated and heat sinks using the same production platform.
that the temperature differential between a PV receiver
2
comprised of 4” (100x100 mm ) square solar cells and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ambient does not exceed 30°C at zero wind condition
2
even under 5000 W/m radiation impact. It was further We would like to thank G. Rubin for fruitfull discussion
demonstrated that the same temperature differential is and P. Antipov for technical assistance during cell and PV
preserved for a PV receiver comprised of smaller receiver assembling.
50x100 mm2 solar cells when it is equipped with an This work was supported by the IRAP NRC project
adjusted heat sink and operates under not less than under contract number 568171.
2
10000 W/m radiation impact.
We also confirmed possibility to apply novel heat sink on REFERENCES
narrow PV receivers of 12.5 mm width that are operating
under up to 20-times concentration. [1] German patent, DE No 102 39 845, Leonid B., Rubin,
George L. Rubin: Elektrode fuer fotovoltaische Zellen,
CONCLUSIONS fotovoltaische Zelle und fotovoltaischer Module; WO
2004/021455 A1 .
It is evident that due to the shortage of silicon supply [2] J. Coello, M. Castro, I. Antón, G. Sala, M.A. Vázquez,
there is growing interest towards employing trackers to Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications,
increase power output from conventional PV modules and 12 (2004), p.323-331.
to use sun concentrator systems. There are several [3] A. Schneider, L. Rubin, G. Rubin, A. Osipov, A.
reasons why PV systems with low concentrating optics Smirnov, P. Antipov, Proceedings of the 4th WCPEC,
should be considered as one of the most perspective in Hawaii, 2006, pp 2073.
terms of cost of generated solar electric energy. First of all [4] A. Schneider, L. Rubin, G. Rubin, Proceedings of the
st
it is evident that low concentration optics may provide 21 European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference
wider acceptance angle. Therefore it has a potential to and Exhibition, Dresden, Germany, 2006, pp 2243.
collect higher portion of diffused solar radiation thereby
148
OPTICAL ANALYSIS OF ASYMMETRIC COMPOUND PARABOLIC PHOTOVOLTAIC

CONCENTRATORS (ACPPVC) SUITABLE FOR BUILDING FAÇADE INTEGRATION
Yupeng Wu a, Philip C. Eames a and Mervyn Smyth b

a
Warwick Institute for Sustainable Energy and Resources, School of Engineering,
University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, U.K
b
Centre for Sustainable Technologies, School of the Built Environment,
University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, BT37 0QB, U.K
Abstract Concentrator systems which increase the solar radiation

intensity on the photovoltaic cells may reduce the system
Ray-trace techniques have been used to predict the cost, if the cost of the concentrator is less than the
optical performance and angular acceptance of photovoltaic material displaced (Rabl, 1976) (Winston et al,
Asymmetric Compound Parabolic Photovoltaic 2005). Non-imaging untruncated and truncated ACPPVC
Concentrator (ACPPVC) systems suitable for integration systems have been analysed using ray-trace techniques
into vertical south facing building façades. The to determine their optical characteristics. The ACPPVC
untruncated ACPPVC system had acceptance-half angles system design analysed is suitable for integration onto
of 50° and 0°, a PV width of 125mm and a geometrical south facing vertical building façades in the U.K. The
concentration ratio of 3.34. Different truncations of the untruncated ACPPVC design had acceptance-half angles
ACPPVC system were applied, with comparisons of of 50° and 0°, PV absorber width of 125mm and
angular acceptance between the untruncated and geometrical concentration ratio of 3.34. A schematic
truncated systems discussed. From the simulations illustration of the cross section of the reflector profiles
undertaken, the angular acceptance was 100% within the illustrating the three truncation positions investigated is
range of incidence angles between 0° to 50° for shown in figure 1. The geometrical characteristic of the
untruncated and truncated systems. Increased truncation untruncated and truncated ACPPVC systems are shown in
leads to increased angular acceptance with reduced table 1.
maximum concentration. The predicted flux distributions
over the PV surface for the untruncated and truncated
systems are presented for selected angles of incidence
along with concentration ratio.
Introduction
Solar energy is a clean energy source with the potential to

meet the world’s energy needs. Photovoltaics convert
solar energy directly to electricity. Current low solar to
electrical conversion efficiency and high costs prevent the
wide scale adoption and use of Photovoltaic systems Table 1 Geometrical characteristics of the untruncated and
(Boyle, 2004). Low concentration non-imaging Asymmetric truncated ACPPVC systems
Compound Parabolic Photovoltaic Concentrators
(ACPPVC) are suitable for building façade integration.
Figure 1 ACPPVC system with acceptance-half angles of 50° and 0°
149
Ray trace analysis and optical performance for trace diagrams for truncation levels 1, 2 and 3 are shown
the selected ACPPVC systems in figures 3 to 5, respectively. The ray trace diagrams of
the truncated systems are almost the same as for the
All rays were assumed specular in the ray trace model, the untruncated one.
solar incidence angle (θ) was considered from the
horizontal as illustrated in figure 1. The aperture cover was The angular acceptance and optical efficiency of the
4mm thick low iron glass with an extinction coefficient of 4 untruncated ACPPVC system are shown in figure 6. The
-1
m . The reflectance of the reflectors was taken to be 0.98. angular acceptance is 100% for incidence angles within 0°
The analysis of angular acceptance and optical to 50°. When the solar incidence angle is above 50°, the
efficiencies used 10,000 rays incident on the glass angular acceptance rapidly drops to 0. The highest
aperture cover between 0° and 90° at 1° intervals. The ray predicted optical efficiency was 88.67% for the
trace analysis allowed both angular acceptance function untruncated ACPPVC. The angular acceptance functions
and the optical efficiency to be determined. for the 4 design variations untruncated, truncation level 1,
truncation level 2 and truncation level 3 are shown in
Ray trace diagrams for the untruncated ACPPVC system figure 7. These systems have different geometrical
for a selection of solar incidence angles are shown in concentration ratios, but almost the same angular
figure 2. From figure 2 it can be observed that at incidence acceptance functions within the range of 0° to 90°. The
angles of 1°, 15°, 30° and 45° (from the horizontal), all the untruncated system and the truncation level 1 system
incident rays are incident at the PV cells. When the solar have the same percentage of angular acceptance at the
incidence angle is 45°, a local high intensity flux can be same solar incidence angle. Truncation level 2 and
seen in the middle and lower part of the PV cell. This will truncation level 3 have an increased angular acceptance
lead to an increase in the local temperature of the PV range over that of the untruncated system and the
cells, and potentially result in a decrease in the electrical truncation level 1 system within the solar incidence angle
conversion efficiency. Decreasing the solar incidence range from 0° to 90°. Due to truncation of the upper and
angle towards the horizontal, more rays are reflected onto lower reflector increasing amounts of diffuse solar
the absorber by reflector 1, compared to reflector 2. Ray radiation can enter the ACPPVC system.
Figure 2 Illustrative ray trace diagrams for the untruncated ACPPVC system, 50 rays are shown for each diagram.
Figure 3 Illustrative ray trace diagrams for ACPPVC system truncation level 1, 50 rays are shown for each diagram.
150
Figure 6 Angular acceptance and optical efficiency for the untrucated ACPPVC system
Figure 7 Angular acceptance functions for the untruncated and truncated ACPPVC systems
151
Energy Distribution across the PV cells
The two dimensional ray trace technique was also

employed to predict the solar radiation incident at the PV
cells. The effects of diffuse radiation were not included in
this analysis. The prediction of energy distribution across
the PV cells of the ACPPVC systems are shown in figures
2
8 and 9. 1000 W/m solar radiation has been applied at
the system apertures. Selected solar incidence angles
15°, 30° and 45° were used for this simulation. For the
untruncated ACPPVC system, from figure 8 it can be seen
that when the solar incidence angle is 15°, two peak solar
fluxes occur on the PV cells, where the PV cell near the
upper and lower reflector has a higher solar flux than in
the central region, due to the direct radiation from the sun Figure 9 Energy distributions across the photovoltaic cells
and reflected radiation from the upper and lower reflectors. of the ACPPVC System truncation level 3 for solar
For the 30° solar incidence angle, the energy distribution incidence angles of 15°, 30° and 45° to the horizontal, the
2
has the same characteristics as the 15° solar incidence incident solar radiation intensity was 1000W/m
angle, two peak solar fluxes are also been on the PV cells.
For the 45° solar incidence angle, one peak solar flux only Conclusions
occurs at the PV cell, due to solar radiation only being
reflected from the lower reflector. The characteristics of A detailed analysis of the optical performance of
the energy distributions across the PV cells for the untruncated and truncated ACPPVC systems have been
ACPPVC system truncation level 3 are almost the same undertaken. The angular acceptance was 100% within the
as those for the untruncated system shown in figure 9. range of incidence angles between 0° to 50° for the
untruncated and truncated systems. Increased truncation
leads to increased angular acceptance with reduced
maximum concentration. Due to the reflection from the
reflectors, significant peak solar fluxes are found on the
PV cells for some incidence angles.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the School of Engineering,

University of Warwick through a Departmental Scholarship
to Yupeng Wu.
References
Boyle, G (2004) Renewable Energy: Power for a

Figure 8 Energy distributions across the photovoltaic cells Sustainable Future. Oxford U.K Oxford University Press.
of the Untruncated ACPPVC System for direct solar
incidence angles of 15°, 30° and 45° to the horizontal, the Rabl, A. (1976) Comparison of Solar Concentrators. Solar
2
incident solar radiation intensity was 1000W/m Energy, Vol. 18, pp. 93-111
Winston, R., Miñano J. C. and Benítez, P. (2005)

Nonimaging Optics. London U.K Elsevier Academic Press.
152
LINEAR FRESNEL LENSES WITH PHOTOVOLTAICS FOR COST EFFECTIVE

ELECTRICITY GENERATION AND SOLAR CONTROL OF BUILDINGS
Y. Tripanagnostopoulos
Physics Department, University of Patras, Patra 26504, Greece
Tel:+30 2610 997472, e-mail:yiantrip@physics.upatras.gr
ABSTRACT benefits of CPVs. Regarding high concentration Fresnel

lens type PV systems, the 240X Fresnel lens with
Linear Fresnel lenses with photovoltaics can be used efficiency 20.3 % [4] the 100X Fresnel lens with CPC
in building atria, sunspaces, etc and apart of the electricity refractive secondary concentrator and efficiency 26.8% [5]
generation they can contribute to keep the illumination and and the Fresnel lens system 120X [6], can be referred. In
the interior temperature of these spaces at the comfort the range of medium CR PV systems there is a variety of
level. The collection of 60%-80% of the transmitted solar works, as the study on Fresnel optics for CPVs [7], the
radiation by the photovoltaics leaves the rest amount to be development of glass type Fresnel lenses [8], and the
distributed in the interior space. The photovoltaics can be fabrication, installation and operation of a linear Fresnel
combined with thermal absorbers to extract the heat by lens with photovoltaics [9]. A linear Fresnel type
water circulation, keeping their efficiency at a satisfactory concentrator combined with linear cells [10] and optical
level. A system of Fresnel lens with linear absorber, to results for 3D static acrylic lens concentrators, achieving a
provide electricity and heat, is presented. Design aspects reduction of 62% in cell surface [11] can be also referred.
and laboratory scale experimental results are included, Other studies on Fresnel lens type CPVs are the study on
giving an idea for the application of the new system. curved surface lens to minimize focal length [12] and the
design and use of glass type Fresnel lenses [13]. In
INTRODUCTION addition, the chromatic dispersion of Fresnel lenses [14],
the truncated stationary Fresnel lenses [15] and the
Several investigations result to lower the cost of performance study of a flat linear Fresnel lens collector
photovoltaics increasing also their electrical efficiency, but [16] could be mentioned. Recently, advanced technology
their payback time has not been reduced enough to be Fresnel lens concentrators have been developed and
considered cost effective. The combination of solar commercial models are in the market, where most of them
radiation concentration devices with PV modules is up to are of 3D type and acrylic with a large number of grooves.
now the most viable method to reduce system cost,
replacing the expensive cells with a cheaper solar The use of Fresnel lenses as a transparent covering
radiation concentrating system. Besides, concentrating material for lighting and energy control of internal spaces
photovoltaics (CPV) present higher efficiency than the has been introduced by Jirka et al [17]. Extending this
typical ones, but this can be achieved in an effective way idea, a concept was suggested by Tripanagnostopoulos et
by keeping PV module temperature as low as possible. al, [18], combining linear Fresnel lenses with PV or hybrid
For PV cooling, a water or air circulation mode can be Photovoltaic/Thermal (PVT) small width absorbers, which
applied to extract the heat from it, avoiding the efficiency aim to absorb and extract the concentrated solar radiation
reduction due to the PV module temperature increase. in the form of electricity and heat. The extracted energy
The concentrating solar energy systems are characterized can be stored as heat (hot water storage or underground
by their concentration ratio (CR) and can be combined storage) or as electricity (batteries or electricity grid), to
with “linear focus” (2D) or “point focus” (3D) absorbers for cover several electrical needs. The Fresnel/PVT concept
low (CR<10X), medium (CR<100X) or high (CR>100X) is suggested for solar control of buildings in order to keep
concentration ratio systems, respectively. Most of CPVs the illumination and the interior temperature at the comfort
must use a system to track the sun and only the very low level. The brief concept presentation and laboratory scale
concentration devices can be stationary. Fresnel lenses of results give an idea for the application of this new system.
inexpensive and light in weight plastic material are also
developed. THE FRESNEL/PVT CONCEPT
Concentrators definitely have the potential to be Fresnel lenses are optical devices for solar radiation
comparative on cost but they must be effectively designed concentration, which are used in several solar energy
to take this benefit. The solar radiation concentration systems as the thermal collectors and photovoltaics
devices are the reflectors (flat, V-trough, CPC, cylindrical because of their attractive features. Their advantages are
parabolic, dishes etc) and the lenses (linear Fresnel the lower volume, weight and cost, compared to the thick
lenses, point focus Fresnel lenses, dielectric type lenses, ordinary lenses. Several types of Fresnel lenses have
etc). Comparison results [1-3] give an idea about the been investigated, consisting of linear or circular grooves.
Fresnel lenses of 2D type (linear geometry lenses) are
153
more practical than 3D type lenses (circular geometry penetrates the transparent apertures of a building affects
lenses), as they can have East-West lens axis orientation the illumination and the temperature of the interior spaces.
and therefore they need less adjustments per year for Apart of typical windows, the sunspace, the atrium, the
system orientation to the sun. Both sides of a Fresnel lens gallery or other light-guide forms are used in architecture
could be grooved, but in practice they are grooved on the to provide more solar radiation into the building. These
surface facing down, having smooth their flat surface constructions are used to replace artificial illumination and
towards the sun to reduce transmission losses and thus to save electricity, but daylight plays a more important
accumulation of dust and dirt. Optical losses in a Fresnel role considering visual comfort, communication and other
lens are high and are mainly due to reflection at the aspects. In addition, the distribution of daylight in building
interfaces, to diffraction from close groove spacing, to spaces results in most cases to non-uniform energy flow
absorption in the lens material, to chromatic aberration and therefore solar control is often necessary. In medium
and also to slope errors. These losses result to lower and high latitude countries the amount of solar energy is
optical performance of Fresnel lens and also to create not usually enough and artificial light and heat supply is
non-uniform illumination at the focal plane. needed in most months of the year. On the contrary, in low
latitude countries the incoming solar radiation is more than
the necessary for visual and thermal comfort and its
reduction is a common practice. Field measurements on
daylighting control have been considered for energy
saving [19] and investigations for heat transfer across a
PV wall have been determined regarding the cooling load
component [20]. In addition, flat or curved (CPC) reflectors
have been suggested to be used as lightguides and to
provide sunlight the spaces of the building interior [21,22].
Fig.1 Application of Fresnel lenses to buildings
The advantage of linear Fresnel lenses to separate

the direct from the diffuse solar radiation makes them
suitable for illumination control in the building interior
spaces as atria, galleries and sunspaces (Fig.1), providing
light of suitable intensity level and without sharp contrasts.
The direct part of the incident solar radiation can be
concentrated on an absorber strip, located at the focal
position of the applied optical system and can be taken
away to achieve lower illumination level and also to avoid
the overheating of the space. The Fresnel lens is a non-
imaging concentrator and therefore the refracted rays form
a diffused image of sun at the focal line, as shown in Fig.2
Fig.3 The absorbers out (left) and on (right) focus
(left). In the same figure (Fig.2, right), six types of possible
solar radiation absorbers are included, where in the first
The linear Fresnel lens can be combined with linear
line are the fin with pipe type for water heating, the air duct
multifunction absorbers that can convert the concentrated
for air heating and the photovoltaic type absorber. In the
solar radiation into heat, electricity or both (Fig.2, right).
second line there are the hybrid PVT type absorbers for
These compound systems can adapt illumination control
water heating, for air heating and also for water heating
during day, as of a sunspace (Fig.3), storing the surplus
with additional glazing and thermal insulation.
energy for space heating during night, to contribute in the
ventilation needs during day and to cover other building
electrical loads. In low intensity solar radiation, due to the
position of sun relative to the building roof (low sun
altitude) or because of the clouds, the absorbers can be
out of focus (Fig.3a) leaving the light to come in the
interior space and to keep the illumination at an
acceptable level. The distribution of the solar radiation on
cell surface and the temperature rise of it are two
problems that affect its electrical output. The uniform
distribution of the concentrated solar radiation on cell
surface and the application of a suitable cooling mode
contribute in all cases to an effective system operation,
considering the achievement of the maximum electrical
output. Non-uniformity is due to concentrator optical and
Fig.2 The Fresnel lens and the linear absorbers shape errors, which even if they are small they have a
significant effect on the flux profile. Another effect is that
The Fresnel lenses can be applied on buildings to the temperature in locations of high illuminance can be 10-
o
control the light and the temperature in it. The daylight that 15 C higher than elsewhere in the cell, reducing the open
154
circuit voltage. In the absence of a flux modifier the In the devices with low concentration photovoltaics the
electrical losses are in the order of 5-15 %. In addition, obtained electrical efficiency is not considerably increased
other optical losses due to tracking process, wind and high as it is observed in devices with high concentration ratio.
ratio of diffuse solar radiation cause a further reduction of In case of using pc-Si or c-Si cells, the electrical efficiency
the final system electrical output. is in the range of 10%-14% under usual operating
conditions and the rest of the above mentioned total
EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEM AND RESULTS efficiencies are the thermal efficiencies. On the other
hand, the extraction of the great part of the incoming solar
The passive (heat sink) or active (heat extraction by radiation by the absorbing strips keeps the temperature of
water or air circulation) cooling of cells are usual modes to the interior space of the simulative device at a satisfactory
o
keep their temperature at an acceptance level. As an level (reduction by 5-10 C, depending on the operating
extension of the simple cooling mode, the hybrid PVT temperature of the absorber). In this way a considerable
solar energy systems have been investigated to provide amount of cooling load is directly covered. Natural air
simultaneously electricity and hot fluid, which contributes ventilation mode is necessary to be applied during periods
to a higher conversion rate of the absorbed solar radiation, with high values of incident solar radiation and ambient
thus making the system more practical. The PVT systems temperature. The suggested investigation contributes to
can be effectively used in applications of small available the extraction of a significant amount of heat from the
building surfaces for system installation. Studies on PVT interior space in the form of electricity and thermal energy,
solar collectors have been presented last thirty years and which is critical for the achievement of the comfort level in
among concentrating PVT systems, the use of linear it. In addition, an Air Conditioning system can operate by
parabolic reflector [23] and Fresnel reflector [24] could be the provided electricity from solar cells of the applied PVT
referred. absorbers to cool building interior spaces. Regarding the
illumination control, the suggested system can avoid the
An extensive study for performance improvement of glare in the interior space and a smooth lighting without
hybrid PVT systems has been done at the University of sharp contrasts is achieved. During winter, the solar input
Patras and new systems have been analyzed [25,26]. The is some times higher than the needed and should be
hybrid PVT systems can be combined with linear Fresnel extracted, being therefore converted into electricity and
lenses and can be used for space heating and cooling of heat, to cover electrical and space heating needs.
building interior spaces. The Fresnel lenses with the
hybrid PVT absorbers (FRESNEL/PVT system) is a new An alternative system design is the integration of the
concept and aims to maximize the energy conversion from linear Fresnel lenses on building façade or inclined roof
Fresnel lens type solar energy systems, which can be and the absorber to be PV cells of smaller strip width, to
used as transparent material. From the performed receive the peak of the converged to focal line solar rays.
laboratory experiments most of the transmitted solar In this design, the non-used converged radiation and also
radiation from the glazed roof can be absorbed, controlling the diffuse radiation by the cells can be absorbed by flat or
the illumination of the interior space (Fig.3b) and providing cylindrical elements placed in a small distance from PV
also electricity and heat to cover several building energy strip. These elements form an air duct with system thermal
needs. The collection of 60%-80% of the transmitted solar insulation and the air can circulate through it to achieve
radiation through the transparent cover leaves the rest building ventilation. In this system the cell material is
amount of solar radiation to be distributed in the building reduced (lower PV module cost) and all not-used solar
space for the illumination needs. The experiments were radiation by cells is absorbed for effective water heating.
performed with a simulative device and the results showed In case of tubular tank absorber, it can operate as an
that a considerable lighting and temperature reduction in Integrated Collector Storage (ICS) water heater, providing
the interior space is achieved. The cooling effect by the hot water without using pumps and heat exchangers. In
suggested system can adapt about 50% of the needs, only addition, the mass of the water in the tank has thermal
from the heat extraction by the absorber operation, which inertia (as a Trombe wall) and can achieve an extension of
can be higher if we consider fan or AC operation by the building ventilation time for some more hours after sunset.
provided electricity from the photovoltaics. The study on
the distribution of the concentrated solar radiation on the CONCLUSIONS
focal plane of a linear Fresnel lens, the effect of the
absorber size and the incidence angle on the collected The concept of Fresnel lenses combined with linear
radiation and interior space temperature [27], gives a solar energy absorbers is suggested for building atria,
figure of the effective use of FRESNEL/PVT system. galleries and sunspaces to keep the illumination and the
interior temperature at the comfort level. The collection of
In hybrid PVT solar systems, the total efficiency 60%-80% of the transmitted solar radiation through the
corresponds to the sum of both the electrical efficiency Fresnel lens on PV or PVT absorbers leaves the rest
and the thermal efficiency of the solar system for certain amount to be distributed in the interior space for the
operating conditions. If the electrical and the thermal illumination and thermal building needs. Laboratory scale
output of the system is considered together, the overall results show that the suggested system is of practical
obtained efficiency exceeds 60% for PV cooling operation interest for building integrated concentrating photovoltaics
o
mode (water circulation at 20 C), while it is about 40% for (BICPVs) considering the dual operation of the system.
o
the usual water heating mode (water circulation at 50 C).
155
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156
EFFECT OF A SECONDARY LINEAR CONCENTRATOR ON THE SI SOLAR CELL

ELECTRICAL PARAMETERS
Chemisana, D., Ibáñez, M., Abdel Mesih, B., Rosell, J.I.

University of Lleida, 25001, Lleida, Spain
ABSTRACT uniform distribution of solar flux, at the solar cells, lowered

the efficiency of the PV power generation.
In most photovoltaic concentrator systems the cells Solar concentrators suffer from inhomogeneous
are exposed to non-uniform illumination conditions with illumination because they are designed in such a way so
consequent non-uniform temperature and current that reflected sun rays fall exactly on the cells and do not
distributions. Behaviour of the solar cell electrical miss their target in case of poor tracking or structure
parameters has shown to be dissimilar according to the misalignment. This causes the electrical output of the PV
illumination pattern. The non-uniform light distribution not to vary and influence the distribution of currents in the
only affects the fill factor but also results in an open circuit solar cell. Other factors affecting the performance are
voltage reduction. shadowing, intensity, and spectrum due to dust,
The use of secondary concentrators to modify temperature, clouds, or even pollution. The influence of
illumination distributions is also well known. The objective these factors can be investigated [5] using the expression:
of the work is to evaluate the increase of electrical
production of Si solar cells under linear concentration − EG0 V
using secondary concentrators. I = C1G − C2T 3 exp{ }[exp{ 1 } −1] + C3V1 (1)
The electrical output not only depends on the kT nVT
uniformity of radiation but also on the local thermal and
electrical conditions of the solar cell. Therefore, it is Eq. (1) is the mathematical expression base for the
necessary to match all these values, the radiation pattern, method used here to characterize I–V curves. Where the
the thermal profile, and the voltage distribution over the diode voltage V1 = V + RsI, G is the incident irradiance,
cell. EG0 is the bandgap at 0 K and k is the Boltzmann
constant. Eq. (1) is fitted to experimental data using a non-
INTRODUCTION linear multivariable regression. A first guess of the series
resistance and the ideality factor is done. Once C1, C2 and
Photovoltaic power generation systems at the C3 are determined, the series resistance and the ideality
moment are important sources of electrical power to factor are numerically adjusted to obtain the best
replace or complement the most usual power generation coefficient of determination. The process is repeated until
systems (which are fossil and nuclear fuels). In this field convergence of the parameters is achieved. The
concretely concentrator systems show a promising path to mathematical method is simple enough to be performed in
reduce the costs of solar electricity. Currently, the prices of a standard spreadsheet. In this model is very important
solar PV systems are not economically feasible but there the explicit dependence between current and temperature.
are efforts to reduce these costs using concentrators. The aims of the present paper are: firsly to
Concentrator optics use either mirrors or lenses for determine experimentally the loss of production of a
solar energy conversion. The gains that can achieved with concentrating solar cell under non-uniform illumination
a Fresnel lens or a parabolic mirror are comparable and distribution. Secondly, to test the improvement on
the two configurations were developed competitively[1]. illumination distribution in a linear Fresnel concentrator
Several designs of Fresnel lenses have been produced by a secondary concentrator. Thirdly, to
devised and tested. Flat Fresnel lenses are still in use by evaluate the increase of cell production thanks to the
some PV systems. A convex linear Fresnel lens is devised secondary concentrator.
to improve the concentration ratio and the efficiecy. Also, a
flat linear Fresnel lens in thermal energy collection is NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGY
utilized[2]. A symmetrical convex shaped Fresnel lens was
introduced and optimized and later a shaped non-imaging To determine the electrical cell parameters at
Fresnel lens was presented which had an arbitrary profiles different illumination and temperature conditions,
according to the applications [3,4]. On the other hand, experimental intensity and voltage measurements are
mirror concentrators come in different forms; parabolic taken under concentrated radiation (1.5 suns). The
troughs reflection concentrators, Fresnel reflection experimental work described is held on an ASE
2
collectors, parabolic mirror dishes, and V-trough monocrystalline silicon solar cell with 46.56 cm area (for
concentrators. In the 4 previous concentrators, the non- concentration uses, 10 suns).
157
The measuring device uses a halogen light source measured ones in figure 3, giving a root mean square
with ± 5% uniform collimated light. A computer with a DAQ error below 10%. Similar good fittings are obtained for the
software measures the cell performance data, the non-uniform illumination distribution.
temperature and the irradiance level and also controls an
electronic load. This allows measurement of short circuit to
open circuit conditions. We use a high speed DAQ target c-Si
2
(resolution 12 bits) which records the current, voltage and 1,8 3
temperature simultaneously. The temperature sensor is an 1,6
infrared thermometer. The negative contact in the cell is 1,4 2
obtained by two copper arms, and the noise is reduced 1,2
I(A)
with a RC filter. 1
Illumination pattern on the solar cell is done using 0,8
different filters with the same mean transmittance. In the 0,6
experimental procedure Gaussian (see Fig. 1), uniform 0,4 1
distributions patterns were used. The filters are located 0,2
just above the solar cell. 0
τ (%) 0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6
44
V(V)
Experimental data Simulated data
66
Fig. 2. I-V adjusted curves and experimental data.
c-Si
90
2,5
2
Fig.1. Gaussian pattern filter y = 0,9505x + 0,0648
I sim (A)
1,5 R2 = 0,9808
The methodology developed to analyze the electrical 1
behavior of the solar cells is based in equation (1). In a
first step, this expression is fitted to experimental data for 0,5
uniform and Gaussian illumination patterns using different
0
levels of irradiance ant temperatures. In a second step the
coefficients obtained from the fittings are used to compare 0 0,5 1 1,5 2
electrical productions at the same irradiance and I exp (A)
temperature.
Fig. 3. Simulated versus measured cell intensity.
COMPARISON OF ILLUMINATION DISTRIBUTIONS
To adjust expression (1) to the ASE solar cell the I-V curve
Parameters c-Si
was measured at different irradiance and temperature
conditions under uniform and non-uniform illumination C1 0.00128
distributions. I-V curves are taken at three irradiances and C2 -53328.02358
temperatures (see Table 1). Expression (1) is fitted to
C3 -0.10144
these data.
Rs (Ω) 0.00865
-2
Curve G (Wm ) Temp (ºC) N 1.4973
1 1000 29.41 EG (J) 1.7622E-19
2 1400 47.33 r2 0.9802
3 1500 43.42
Table 2 Model parameters derived using the regression
method.
Table 1 Illumination and temperature conditions
To achieve the first objective, the adjusted I-V curves are
Figure 2 shows the results obtained for uniform
plotted at different irradiance and temperature conditions.
illumination pattern. The experimental curves and the
Figures 4 and 5 are an example of the results obtained.
simulated ones (using the parameters shown in table 2)
For these graphs the irradiance assumed is 1.35 suns and
are drawn. Simulated intensities are plotted against
the temperature 28 ºC.
158
2
1,8
1,6
1,4
1,2
I(A)
1
0,8
0,6
0,4
0,2
0
0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 0,7
V (V) Fig.6. Optical device
Fig. 4. I-V curves under Gaussian (red) and uniform
A Fresnel concentrator produces a flux distribution at
(blue) illumination distributions. the output aperture that closely resembles the Gaussian
curve. Figure (7) shows a plot of light intensity distribution
0,8
across the target width, using OptiCAD ray-tracing
software to model the Fresnel concentrator optics. The
root mean square error (RMS) obtained for flux distribution
2
0,6 is 2.741 W/cm . Using OptiCAD the performance of the
cost-effective solution shown in figure 8 has been
evaluated. The implementation of the secondary
P(W)
2
0,4 concentrator decreases the RMS to 0.1485 W/cm .
0,2
8
0 7
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 6
I (A) 5
w / cm 2 4
3
Fig. 5. Power curves under Gaussian (red) and
2
uniform (blue) illumination distributions. C7
1
For the Gaussian illumination distribution the 0 C1

0 1 2 3 4
maximum power achieved is 0.743 W. The curve for
cm
uniform illumination gives a maximum power of 0.759 W.
Therefore, the production for the Gaussian case is lower
than the uniform case. The small difference is small due to
the characteristics of the non-uniform pattern applied. The Fig.7. Radiation pattern of the Fresnel concentrator.
transmittance varies from 44% in the sides of the cell to
90% in the center. A sharper transmittances profile would
had given a larger difference. To evaluate the increase of cell production thanks to
the secondary concentrator the experimental and
SECONDARY CONCENTRATOR SIMULATIONS numerical procedure described above is applied using a
Gaussian filter which gives an illumination pattern similar
to the one obtained in figure 8. The loss of production due
To achieve the second objective, secondary device
to non-uniform illumination patter depends on mean
optical effects are studied applying OptiCad simulations.
irradiance value and temperature. The mean value found
The non-uniform illumination effects can be reduced with a
is 2.1% for irradiances between 1 and 10 suns.
secondary optical device placed on the focus of the lens.
The optical system under study (see Fig. 6) is based on a
primary linear Fresnel concentrator lens (30 cm focal) and
a secondary concentrator, two parallels mirrors (reflectivity
0.88).
159
[5] J. Rosell, M. Ibáñez. “Modelling power output in

photovoltaic modules for outdoor operating conditions”.
Energy Conversion and Management 2006, 47, pp. 2424-
2430.
7
6
5
4
w / cm2
3
2
C6
1
0 C1
0 1 2 3 4
cm
Fig.8. Radiation pattern of the Fresnel with the

secondary optical device.
CONCLUSIONS
It is shown that the use of a simple secondary optics

device is very useful to work with linear Fresnel
concentrators due to the uniform illumination pattern
produced in the concentrating solar cells. The root mean
square error (RMS) obtained for flux distribution
2 2
decreases from a RMS 2.741 W/cm to 0.1485 W/cm in
the distribution produced by the secondary.
In accordance with previous works, it is shown that
the non-uniform illumination decreases the electric
production of the solar cells. The I-V curve fitted to the
experimental data allos the valuation of the losses in
different radiation and temperature conditions. The mean
value determined is 2.1%.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by the MCYT (Spain) (ENE2004-

07619).
REFERENCES
[1] Lorenzo, E., Luque, E. “Fresnel lens analysis for solar

energy applications”. Applied Optics 1981. 20(17), pp.
2941-2945.
[2] Al-Jumaily, K.E,J., Al-Kaysi, M.K.A. “The study of the

performance and efficiency of flan linear Fresnel lens
collector with sun tracking system in Iraq”. Renewable
Energy 1998. 14, pp. 41-48.
[3] Leutz, R., Suzuki, A., Akisawa, A., Kashiwagi, T.

“Design of a nonimaging Fresnel lens for solar
concentrators”. Solar Energy 1999. 65, pp. 379-387.
[4] Leutz, R., Suzuki, A., Akisawa, A., Kashiwagi, T.

“Shaped nonimaging Fresnel lenses”. Journal of Optics A:
Pure and Applied Optics 2000. 2, pp. 112-116
160
SEGMENTED CONE CONCENTRATORS: OPTICAL DESIGN
R. Leutz, L. Fu
Physics Department, Philipps-University, Renthof 5, 35037 Marburg, Germany;
ralf.leutz@physik.uni-marburg.de, phone +49-6421-2824148, fax +49-6421-2826535
L. Rubin, V. Nebusov
Day4 Energy Inc., 101 5898 Trapp Avenue, Burnaby, BC V3N 5G4, Canada
ABSTRACT images of the sun; for one segment on each side on the
receiver, the concentration ratio is three (two walls plus
Segmented cone concentrators (or booster wings, V- receiver). The mirror walls may be segmented into two,
troughs) are an alternative to Fresnel lenses for low three, or more segments, then the concentration ratio
concentration. Although the aspect ratio of a concentrator approaches five, seven, or more.
assembled from flat mirror segments is high, it can be
designed fulfilling the conditions of uniform irradiance on In this contribution we discuss the design solutions
the target, and single reflection. There are two classes of and the optical properties of the segmented cones. We
segmented cone concentrators: One class where the begin with the design of single- and double-stage
mirror is directly attached to the receiver with a slope segmented cones. Multiple segments are designed
numerically for any possible geometrical concentration
angle smaller than π/4, and a second class characterized
ratio. Physically meaningless solutions for the first (lowest)
by physically impossible first segment slopes, i. e. with a
segment lead to a novel class of cone concentrators with
gap between receiver and mirror. Both classes show very
moderately higher geometrical concentration ratios and
different aspect ratios.
significantly reduced height.
These cones are intended as one-axis tracking linear

INTRODUCTION
solar concentrators; we discuss the height vs.
concentration issue, and tracking error sensitivity. A
The concentration ratio of segmented cone [1]
rendering of three different cones is shown in Fig. 1.
concentrators is easily found by counting the number of
Figure 1: Segmented cone concentrators of similar geometrical concentration ratio. Three, four and five segments, from
left to right. The lowest segments are unphysical in the two designs on the right-hand side. Note the aspect ratios
161
ONE SEGMENT
The design of a single segment cone concentrator

with straight walls, uniform irradiance, and one reflection
per ray has been introduced 35 years ago [2]. The
geometrical concentration ratio of any concentrator is the
relation of entry aperture a to exit aperture a’ according to
Fig. 2.
Figure 2:
Figure 3: Geometrical concentration ratio and wall

inclination angle for the linear cone concentrator with one
set of wall segments. The merit function Cgeo ψ describes
the marginal change of mirror surface area (expressed by
the inclination angle) needed for an increase of the
geometrical concentration ratio
The problem is to distribute the concentrations C1

and C2 for the sets of mirror segments I and II,
respectively,
Cgeo = 1 + C1 + C 2 , (2)
in such a way that both sets of mirror segments

Schematic of a segmented cone concentrator. Two paired illuminate the receiver completely. The law of reflection at
segments, one reflection per ray, uniform irradiance. Rays the mirror (Fig. 2) dictates that ψ1 = 2ψ2. Combining this
drawn as solid lines for segment I, rays drawn as dashed with a rewritten Eqn. 1, and Eqn. 2, yields
lines for segment II
With the sine-relation applied to the triangle BAA’, ⎛ ⎛ C −1⎞⎞ (3)

we eventually obtain Cgeo − C 2 = 2 cos ⎜⎜ 2 arccos ⎜ 2 ⎟ ⎟⎟ ,
⎝ ⎝ 2 ⎠⎠
Cgeo = 1 + 2 cos 2ψ . (1)

which is a transcendental equation with a numerical
solution for C2, and consequently also for C1. This
This relation of geometrical concentration ratio and procedure allows for setting the total geometrical
wall inclination angle for the cone with one set of wall concentration ratio at the start of the design process.
segments is shown in Fig. 3. The maximum concentration
achievable in a linear cone concentrator with one pair of THREE OR MORE SEGMENTS
straight wall segments is three. For higher concentration
ratios, an additional pair of wall segments has to be It is possible to design the segmented cone
added. The merit function in Fig. 3 is defined as Cgeo ψ, concentrator with more than two segments. We shall see
reaching a maximum at ψ = 31°. The merit function that there is a small difference in the process, when
describes the marginal change of mirror surface area compared to the design of two sections, but that a rough
(expressed by the inclination angle ψ which is equivalent estimate of the actual concentration ratio can be obtained.
to the slope or derivative of the surface) needed for an Assume that Eqs. 1-3 hold for additional elements. The
increase of the geometrical concentration ratio. geometrical concentration ratio for a segmented cone with
n segments becomes
TWO SEGMENTS
Cgeo = 1 + C1 + C2 + L + C n . (4)
Adding pairs of segments to the single-stage cone
results in the double-stage cone concentrator [3].
The wall inclination develops as follows,
162
ψ 1 = 2ψ 2 = 4ψ 3 = L = 2 n −1ψ n . (5)
The sum of Eqn. 1 gives
n
⎛ 2ψ ⎞
Cgeo = 2∑ cos⎜ i−1 ⎟ , (6)
i =1 ⎝2 ⎠
yielding the inclination angle of the first wall in a

numerical solution, and in closed form.
Figure 4:
Figure 5: Geometrical concentration ratio vs. height of

cones with three or more sets of wall segments, and
similar geometrical concentration ratios. The middle cone
IV’ is designed originally with four segments; the first
segment is nonsensical as it reflects radiation out of the
cone. Its omission creates a gap between absorber and
mirror area. The lower cone V’ is designed originally with
five segments, of which the first has been omitted
DESIGNS WITH GAPS
For the first segment, the inclination angle ψ must be

positive and smaller than π/4 for the reflected ray to be
directed down towards the receiver. The mathematical
root finding procedure mentioned above yields a matching
real solution also for π/4 < ψ < π/2. Obviously, the latter
inclination makes no sense physically: all reflections on a
first segment with this inclination leave the cone.
Corrected inclination ψ’ of the nth wall segment due to the
path of the ray r past lower segments
Rays incident on the second and further segments,
however, are directed towards the target. The angle of
Reaching the third wall segment, we find that a
incidence on the target is relatively large due to the gap
correction has to be introduced. Some rays reflected by
left by the first segment. The smaller the aspect ratio of
the third (top) wall travel close to the second wall segment,
the concentrator, the larger the average incidence angle
and hit the first wall segment, before being rejected out of
on the target. A comparison of concentration ratio vs.
the system. The reflected beam from the aperture of the
height of three cones with three or more segments, two of
third segment has the width of the receiver, but not quite
them designed with a nonsensical first element is given in
the correct direction. Thus, we calculate the angle of a
Fig. 5. The cones have similar geometrical concentration
virtual wall segment r extending from the edge of the
ratios, the prime superscript indicates a nonsensical first
receiver to the start of the 3rd or nth wall segment, yielding
element.
a correct inclination angle ψ’.
It is evident from the figure that the height of the
Having inclined the top wall segment slightly further
systems reduces with the number of segments designed.
than the original, the beam reflected from it becomes too
The widths of the concentrators increase.
wide to be accepted by the receiver. Therefore, the point
ending the top wall segment has to be recalculated as the
HEIGHT VERSUS CONCENTRATION
intersection point D of ray r’, parallel to r and the wall
segment s, as shown in Fig. 4.
The height of the cone is one indication for the
consumption of mirror material (in particular if all mirrors
The correction method yields the new rim of the
are as steep as shown in Fig. 5), and for the sensitivity of
concentrator. Its geometrical concentration ratio is slightly
the cone for accepting incidence at angles other than
lower than the one put in through Eqn. 6, from which the
normal. The height of the cones I, II, III, IV of one, two,
inclination of the first wall ψ was found. three, four and five wall segments vs. geometrical
163
concentration ratios is plotted in Fig. 6. The height is given for tracking errors up to an incidence angle on the entry
in units of absorber half-width. Interestingly, the cones aperture of 2.0°, and exceed 50% for 10°. The presented
designed with missing first segment (II’, III’, IV’, V’) are results are obtained with a ray-tracing simulation. Cosine-
lower than the corresponding segmented cones without effects, or shading losses are not included. The wall
gaps (I, II, III, IV). This is of particular importance for actual reflectivity is~0.85 for all incidence angles. The simulation
solar photovoltaic concentrator systems, which may have includes Fresnel losses at a receiver covered with BK 7
a geometrical concentration ratio around five. glass.
Figure 6: Height of cones with one, two, three, four and Figure 8: Irradiance distribution for typical tracking errors
five sets of wall segments as function of the geometrical on the target of the concentrator IV’ (see Figs. 5 and 7)
concentration ratio. The height is given in units of absorber
half-width. Note that the cones designed with missing first
segment (II’, III’, IV’, V’) are lower than the corresponding The irradiance distribution for typical tracking errors
segmented cones without gaps (I, II, III, IV) on the target of the concentrator IV’ (Fig. 5) is shown in
Fig. 8. While the collection efficiency drops, the irradiance
does not develop any hot spots. The performance of a
photovoltaic cell should not be compromised.
CONCLUSIONS
It is possible to design linear cone concentrators with

multiple straight wall segments, and uniform illumination
on the receiver. Given the height of the system,
geometrical concentration ratios of five are realistic.
The introduction of a gap between the receiver and

the reflector walls reduces the height of the cone
considerably, while increasing its width. Efficiency losses
due to tracking errors are tolerable for incidence up
to 2.0°.
REFERENCES
Figure 7: Efficiency of the cones shown in Fig. 5. Ray-
[1] D. Williamson, Cone Channel Condenser Optics,
tracing results.
Journal of the Optical Society of America 42,10:712-715,
1952.
TRACKING ERROR SENSITIVITY AND
[2] K. Hollands, A Concentrator for Thin-Film Solar Cells,
IRRADIANCE DISTRIBUTION
Solar Energy 13:149-163, 1971.
Tracking errors reduce the efficiency of the cone
[3] K. Mannan and R. Bannerot, Optimal Geometries for
concentrators according to Fig. 7 where the cones
One- and Two-Faced Symmetric Side-Wall Booster
depicted in Fig. 5 are compared. The efficiency losses
Mirrors, Solar Energy 21:385-391, 1978.
increase in linear fashion. Cone concentrators with gaps
are subject to higher losses than the cone without gap,
due to geometrical losses. Efficiency losses are below 0.2
164
MIRRORS BASED ON TOTAL REFLECTION FOR CONCENTRATION PV PANELS
E. Karvelas1, A. Papadopoulos1, D. Dousis1 Y. P. Markopoulos1 E. Mathioulakis2, G. Panaras2, V. Vamvakas3

and D. Davazoglou3*
1
Zenon S. A., Kanari 5, 15354 Glyka Nera, Attiki, Greece
2
NCSR “Demokritos”, Institute of Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection, 3Institute of Microelectronics POB 60228,
15310 Agia Paraskevi, Attiki, Greece,
ABSTRACT This study provides the solution to some of the

aforementioned problems using total reflection mirrors
Mirrors based on total reflection (TRM) have been (TRMs), which can be described as flat or parabolic glass
designed and fabricated for application in concentration panels, made from common water-clear glass having the
PV panels. TRMs are made using glass (without any rear surface curved with parallel or converging orthogonal
metallization) and this renders their lifetime practically prisms. The sunrays coming into these panels from their
unlimited. The approach consists in using the principle of front surface (being flat or curve parabolic etc.) undergo
total reflection, which though well known since many total reflection at the rear surface orthogonal prisms and
centuries, has never been applied in concentration PV come out from the front side. This attractive technology
panels. The reason is that three axis of rotation are needed in was not given any attention up to now mainly because
order to focus the reflected sunrays to the desired focal point as such mirrors need three axis of rotation in order to focus
opposed to two axis of rotation for the conventional mirrors. the reflected sunrays to the desired focal point (compared
The main breakthrough presented here is the design of to two axis of rotation of the conventional mirrors).
TRMs able to focus on a surface of the order of 30x10 The design, has shown that if one of the three
2
mm using two axes of rotation. For the design software rotation axes of the TRMs pass through the focal point
based on the method of ray tracing simulation was used, then they are reduced to two, thus the TRMs developed
which allows for the incorporation of realistic parameters in within the present study focus as conventional mirrors.
the calculations. To obtain focusing the straight acmes of This last innovation has multiple implications. The
a typical total reflection prism were replaced by parabolic reduction of the effective surface of the reflecting mirrors
ones. TRMs were fabricated and tested giving results in from multiple square meters (standard requirements of
agreement with the simulation. conventional mirrors) to a small fraction of one square
meter for the TRMs has been achieved. In this case a low
INTRODUCTION profile arrangement of the concentrating field was selected
in order to be able to sustain the wind load when fitted to a
Photovoltaic (PV) cells technologically represent a supporting structure and therefore reduce the design
mature technology for energy production but are still very requirements of the TRM array hyper-structure.
expensive. The main reason preventing the one-sun PV Additionally each TRM was designed to be in the range of
cells to be cost effective is the high price of the 240 mm diameter, thus having the required glass volume
semiconductor grade silicon necessary for their fabrication to be massively produced by existing automated modern
when a high efficiency is desired. glass manufacturing processes.
One way to overcome this problem is to suppress
the factor “high price’’ using the concentrating type PVs. DESIGN
Up to now this technology has not been exploited
(although it needs 500 to 1000 times less crystalline Si The design of the TRM is based on the idea of the
than conventional PV cells) for several reasons one of total reflection, which is observed when a beam of light
which is the cost of concentrating optics. Indeed although falls on a prism. For the design the basic concept in
mirrors are a relatively cheap material, manufacturing of combination with the optical characteristics of parabolic
curved concentrating mirrors able to remain exposed surfaces were investigated. More precisely, instead of
outdoors and sustain environmental degradation for a time using a simple prism, an upper perfect parabolic surface
period of the order of 20 years is impossible. After a small and a lower edge was designed as a perfect parabola.
fraction of this period mirrors must be replaces thus Part of such a prism is shown in Figure 1. All the shown
increasing the cost of the produced energy. Additionally, planes P1, P2, P3 and P4 are perpendicular to the back
the supporting structure and the sun-tracking device must edge of this prism. The path that the incident on the
be designed for the expected wind speed during their 20- parabolic prism ray follows is also shown in Figure 1. The
year or so lifetime. Thus, the total cost of such a technical incident ray enters the prism at the point A, which is on the
solution using concentrating mirrors is prohibitive and plane P1 while a small percentage of the incident energy is
leaves little hope to reduce it at an effective level. reflected towards the focal point. First the ray hits the back
surface of the prism at point B, which belongs to plane P2.
165
manufacturing process capable of forming the sharp

edges of the back surface of the TRM using a cheap,
optically clear material such as, for instance, glass. In
order to evaluate the effects of the manufacturing process
on the efficiency of the system, various sizes of radii in the
formation of the back edges of the TRM were taken into
consideration in calculating the relationship between the
efficiency, nTRM, and these radii. The efficiency loss of the
TRM was calculated in relation to the respective edge radii
imposed by the manufacturing process and presented in
Figures 3(a), (b)
Fig 1. Prism design and associated sunray reflection
At this point the ray is reflected again at the opposite

surface of the prism at point C, which belongs to plane P3.
Finally, the ray is reflected out of the prism at point D,
which belongs to the plane P4. It must be noted that the
four planes P1, P2, P3 and P4 are perpendicular to the back
parabolic edge on the prism. The designed TRM is
composed by a number of parabolic prisms. The final
design is presented in figure 2. The diameter of the TRM
is of the order of 230 mm while its constituent prisms are
0
repeated every 2 .
Fig. 3. (a, Upper) Imposed radius to the edges of TRM due

to manufacturing process. (b, Lower) Efficiency loss due to
the increase of the edge radii.
Fig. 2. 3D graphical representation of the TRM optical
It is evident that the efficiency of the system improves as
element.
the number of the back edges of the TRM decreases.
However, this decrease of the number of the TRM’s
In a mathematical limiting case when the dimensions of
“slices” produces undesirable effects such as, for instance,
each prism go to zero, the convergence surface of light
the thickening of the TRM.
from a parallel beam becomes a point. In this limiting case
the optical system exhibits the behavior of a standard
SIMULATIONS
parabolic surface. Therefore, it appears that the lateral
dimensions of the constituent parabolic prisms should be
Ray tracing simulations were performed using the
minimized. However, practical considerations from the
actual sun incident light and implementing real conditions.
manufacturing point of view impose restrictions on the
In particular, the incident light was emitted from a
respective tolerances of the proposed design. From
blackbody surface at 5840 K and equal to the size of the
theoretical projections to physical realization, significant
surface of the sun located at a distance from the
performance degradation is to be expected in terms of
developed Total Reflection Mirror equal to the actual sun
reflection and acceptance angle due to deviations from the
to earth distance. Furthermore, a Lambertian angular
ideal design. The biggest challenge in manufacturing
distribution was used. In order to minimize the statistical
these optical elements is to provide a cheap
166
error to values of 1% or less a large number of emitted applied in order to achieve the best possible optical
rays was used. The performed simulations contributed to surface. Additionally, special care in the machining
the successful design of the TRM by helping the designers process was taken in order to achieve an overall radius of
to pinpoint problematic areas and test the possible the constituent prism edges in the range of .1 mm. A first
remedies to various design considerations and/or qualitative result is presented in Figures 5 (a)&(b). These
problems. field tests are very encouraging concerning the quality and
capability of the TRM reflectivity and sun-array
concentration. Without achieving complete focus with the
sun body a fair match with simulated irradiance map (Fig.
4(a)) was achieved as presented in the photo of Figure
5(a). The Total Reflection is depicted also in visual means
in Fig. 5(b) where it is evident that the density of the
shadow created by the transparent TRM is similar with the
shadow created by a solid body.
Fig. 4. (a, Upper) Irradiance map on the focus plane

calculated with ray tracing simulation software (b, Lower)
Misalignment study.
The results of the simulation of the final TRM

design are shown in Figure 4. These results depict the
distribution of the incident rays to the PV. The size of the Fig. 5. (a) Reflection of sunrays using the TRM
PV is 30 x 10 mm (Fig. 2), located to the focus point. Optical Prototype (b) Shadows generated by the TRM
Based on these simulation results the efficiency of the Optical Prototype.
optical system was calculated to be nTRM=90%. These
simulations are based on the assumption that all the After the successful prototyping of TRMs on plastic,
geometrical characteristics of the TRM will be met during a second generation of TRMs was produced on glass. The
the manufacturing process. manufacturing and its optimization were made in
conjunction with a glass industry. TRGs were re-designed
MANUFACTURING in order to reduce their mass to reduce the duration of
cooling after “pressing”. This was necessary because a
Before investigating the possibilities of molding the long duration of cooling induces stresses and therefore the
TRM in glass material, in order to verify the ray tracing deformation of the shape of the TRGs. In Fig. 6 various
simulations performed, the 3D structural model of the lens stages of the production of the second generation of glass
was sent for CNC machining of a Prototype. A special TRMs is shown.
optical grade of acrylic plastic was used. After the CNC
machining of the lens an optical polishing procedure was
167
TRMs made on glass after 3 years of operation have

retained their initial performance.
Fig. 7 (a, Upper) The installation of PROTEAS PV System.

(b, lower) Comparison of a TRM made on glass (left) and
of a plastic one (right) after two years of operation.
Fig. 6. Various stages of the production of the second
generation of TRMs on glass.
CONCLUSIONS
TESTING
We have demonstrated the TRM, which is a novel
After fabrication TRMs were tested both at
optical device that exploits the concept of the total
laboratory and field conditions. The laboratory tests have
reflection in order to concentrate light on a limited area of
shown while the TRMs made on plastic exhibited a
the order of several square centimeters for use in cent
performance in almost perfect agreement with the
rated PV cells. TRMs may be fabricated on glass at a
simulation the second generation of TRMs exhibits a
reasonably low price, using trivial manufacturing
concentration power of the order of 45% of the prototype
techniques, giving a performance inferior than that of
TRMs on plastic. This was attributed to the small
devices made by high-precision methods but, on the other
imperfections introduced during manufacturing of the
hand, having an infinite lifetime.
latter, which, as seen before, may lead to significant
reduction of performance. Imperfections were mainly
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
introduced during cooling of the glass and this is to be
expected since the initial temperature after “pressing” was
o Financial support from E.U. is acknowledged PROTEAS
of the order of 1000 C, which was falling down to room
PV System, Contract No ENK6-CT-2002.
temperature within some minutes. In an effort to decrease
the thermal mass of the TRMs they were re-designed
REFERENCES
several times to obtain a compromise between a small
thermal mass, i.e., small mass, and mechanical durability.
[1] PROTEAS PV System, Triple hybrid concentrating
For the field testing the TRMs were installed on the
PV system for the cogeneration of electricity, heat and
PROTEAS PV System [1, 2] (Fig. 7, a) which was a hybrid
cooling power, Contract No ENK6-CT-2002
system conceived to produce electricity with concentration
PV cells, heat in the form of hot water from the cooling of [2] PROTEAS PV System, European Photovoltaics
cells and cooling power in conjunction with a small Projects 1992-2002, Project synopses p 124-125
adsorption heat pump. The main result from the field
testing was that, as expected TRMs made on glass were
much more robust than the plastic ones, which after one
year on field lost 30% of their concentration power and 50
% after the second (see Fig. 7, b). On the contrary, the
168
OPTICAL TAILORING OF FLAT FACETED COLLECTOR FOR OPTIMAL FLUX

DISTRIBUTION ON CPV RECEIVER
Marco Stefancicha,b*, Andrea Antoninia,b, Emiliano Milana,b, Giuliano Martinellia,b, Mariangela Butturib, Paolo Zurrub,
Pierangelo di Benedettob, Davide Uderzob, Antonio Parrettac
a - University of Ferrara & CNR , Via Saragat 1 Ferrara (FE) 44100, Italy;
b - CPower srl , Via Saragat 1 Ferrara (FE) 44100, Italy;
c - ENEA Centro Ricerche “E. Clementel”, Via Martiri di Monte Sole 4, 40129 Bologna (BO), Italy
*Corresponding Author: stefancich@fe.infn.it, Phone: +39 (0)532 974329; Fax: +39 (0)532 974327;
lowest illumination. It is therefore important to achieve an

ABSTRACT irradiance distribution as uniform as possible at the
receiver area. Typically, for dish concentrators this is
Photovoltaic concentrator systems would lead to a achieved through the use of secondary flux modifiers
substantial reduction in the cost of the PV energy by which disperses light at the centre of the receiver more
substituting the expensive, photovoltaic flat panels with evenly [1-3]. However, the introduction of additional optical
low cost, reflective or refractive surfaces combined with a parts leads to a reduction in the optical efficiency because
small area of high efficiency concentrator cells. of the reflection at the interfaces and/or absorption of the
Reflective dish concentrators, complete with accurate materials, and leads to an higher complexity in the
tracking, allow a good concentration levels; the use of mechanical, thermal and optical management of the
single, large parabolic mirrors requires a dense array of system. Another possibility is to employ a “tailored optics”
cells at the receiver constituting the photovoltaic module. approach for the primary collector. A particular case is a
This fact reduces significantly not only the quantity of flat facetted concentrator designs where a proper
employed semiconductor but the size of the photovoltaic modeling of the facets shape, dimension and position
module itself, allowing for the fabrication of this high allows to ensure a uniform illumination at the target by the
technological core of the system by means of the superposition of a lot of small sized, parallel bundles [4].
techniques and structures of the electronic industry. With this approach the defects or partially shadowing of
This approach has, however, other technical complexities: the large area, mirrored surface collecting the radiation
the requirement of a dense array module leads to the doesn’t seriously affect the illumination of the target and
necessity of particular solutions for the high density the electrical output of the system, as it happens for the
packaging of the cells and of special solutions to ensure traditional flat panels, or for concentrating systems
high uniformity of the irradiance at the receiver because of composed by arrays of concentrator-cell units.
the series connection of the solar cells. Two additional The uniformity of irradiance at the module of PV cells is
problems tightly related to the previous are the positioning required for all the working conditions of the system, i.e.
of the bypass diodes and the necessity to ensure a also under the small misalignments defining the angular
sufficient angular acceptance of the system, without tolerance of the mechanical system parts.
reducing the uniformity of the irradiation on the
photovoltaic devices.
In this paper some solutions at these problems adopted by
CPower srl for the development of concentrators are FLAT FACETTED CONCENTRATORS
presented.
Using the square mirror version of the primary

INTRODUCTION concentrator with flat facetted parabolic dish as shown in
fig.(1) there are some intrinsic limitations in the achievable
In a dish, reflective solar concentrator, the bundle of light light flux uniformity at the receiver. A less constrained
is directed toward a module of solar cells. To minimize design based on basic triangular facets allows to
optical losses at the target, the cells must be as closely overcome these limitation obtaining, at the same time, a
spaced as possible. In typical dense array, the cells are mechanically continuous surface that provides significant
mostly series connected, to build up the voltage and keep manufacturing advantages. The concentration level can be
the current in the range of the working conditions for the freely chosen being directly connected to the number of
commercial inverters. Because current is almost linearly facets and the reproducibility and conformity of the
dependent on the incident light, the current in a string of continuum surface to the theoretical model of the object
identical solar cells will be limited by the cell with the shape obtained can be very high with standard moulding
processes. Surface optimization can, moreover, be
169
performed by an automatic trial and error procedure aimed As in most photovoltaic modules, in the PV panel a large
at electric power maximization that takes into account the number of solar cells are series connected to reduce the
PV panel structure. power losses related to energy transfer to the inverter and
to increase the voltage to the levels deemed acceptable
by standard conversion devices. Since, however, in a
string of series connected cells the generated current
approximately corresponds to the lower current produced
by each cell separately, all the cells should deliver similar
current. Assuming a substantial temperature uniformity the
current in each cell is essentially proportional to the level
of irradiation. So, all the cells must be equally illuminated
for optimal panel performance. In a parallel connection of
cells, on the other side, the total current is given by the
sum of those produced by each cells. Consequently, the
parallel connection appears to be more suitable for the
situations where the uniformity of illumination isn’t ensured
but it raises significant conversion problems.
On the border line of the focal region of a dish
concentrator there is an annular region of decreasing
Fig.1. Flat faceted solar dish made of an array of all irradiance level. This ring should be kept as thin as
equal, squared mirrors. possible trying to achieve a pillow box distribution. An
ideal flat facetted concentrator permits to get a distribution
To achieve an optimized concentrating surface an closed to the optimal one, but the solar divergence, the
automatic software procedure based on Matlab and possible scattering of light due to the BRDF of the
Tracepro has been developed; it substantially works, reflective surface and the unavoidable fabrication
starting from an initial placement of the triangular facets, tolerances produces a ring of not negligible area.
modifying the positions of the triangles vertices following a Additionally, in condition of non ideal alignment the focus
Montecarlo approach. The quality parameter that zones moves from the desired region; as it can be
determines if the modified configuration is better than the understood by simple geometrical considerations and is
unmodified one is the simulated electrical performance of represented in fig.(3). While the light distribution shape
the PV panel. The properties of the concentrated bundle doesn’t change significantly for small misalignments, it
are simulated by TracePro code, where realistic shifts laterally jeopardizing the full illumination of the cell
characteristics at the reflective surface are taken into panel.
account. The optimized surface is, therefore, specific for
the chosen PV module configuration. Since the
optimization and simulation modules in the software
operate in a fully automatic mode, a very large number of
trials can be performed allowing for an highly optimal
result to be obtained. A CAD image of the so obtained
concentrator is reported in fig.(2).
Fig.3. Shift of the pillow box irradiance maps for a

50x optimized, flat facetted dish for misalignment at
0°, 0.5° and 1° respect to the ideal condition,
considering the solar divergence.
To recover these optical effects some configurations of

secondary optical elements can be employed. However,
this additional object adds complexity in the system design
and realization because of its positioning, its possible
overheating, the degrading of its optical properties, etc..
For these reasons it comports additional cost at the
system. Another possible way followed by CPower srl for
Fig.2. CAD representation of a dish concentrator its dish concentrators is based on a particular electrical
made of tailored triangular flat mirrors. connection of the solar cells of the receiver. A ring of cells
is posed around a central region of series connected solar
cells. Half of this external ring is parallel connected with
the other half; more in particular, the cells in a string are
PANEL CONFIGURATION parallel connected to the correspondent cells on the
170
opposite side of the squared module. These outer cells, in of the solar cells as well as for the positioning of bypass
ideal alignment conditions, are only half illuminated by the diodes, elements ensuring a reduced power loss in the
concentrated radiation. In this way, the portion of every case of fluctuations of the irradiance on the receiver or
solar cell which should be unirradiated recovers the part of degradation of the performances of some devices.
light at the periphery, external at the ideal pillow box;
fraction of light here reflected from the dish can be caused
by manufacturing errors of the concentrator or due to the
solar divergence. Moreover, when the focal region shifts
because of slight misalignments for tracking errors or
mechanical imperfections, these external cells recover the
light losses; this solution can cover misalignments up to
those producing a complete illumination of the external
devices and the consequential total shadowing of the
correspondent cells on the opposite side at which they are Fig.4. A detail of cells in the dense array assembly.
parallel connected.
In fig.(4) the top layer of a so described module is shown CONCLUSIONS
for a concentrator dish of concentration factor equal to
approximately 50x. The central region surrounded by a
continuous line and filled with crosses is the focal zone of While the general design of a dish concentrator system is
the concentrator under ideal alignment. All the cells are essentially established there are a number of technical
rectangular and of same size. The cells belonging at the solutions allowing for higher efficiencies by the reduction
external ring are positioned in order to have their longer of the loss mechanisms. At the same time the proposed
side perpendicular to the ring, to have approximately, the solutions must conform to the available industrial
same angular acceptance along the two axis of the square techniques restricting the nature of the possible
module. interventions.
A deep comprehension of the loss mechanisms and a
realistic evaluation of the outcome of the proposed
solution must necessary be based on refined opto-
electrical simulation the software for which has been
developed on the TracePro-Matlab development platform.
For the developed concentrator a realistic simulation of
system performances under real operating conditions has
been performed and provides, starting with cells having a
20% efficiency, global system efficiency (at the DC side) of
around 12.5%. Further optimization are being currently
considered.
ACKNOLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the European Social Fund,

the Italian Ministry of Work and Welfare, by Regione
Emilia-Romagna and Consorzio Spinner.
REFERENCES
Fig.4. Electrical design for the solar cells on the
module, with position of the cells adopted to recover
small tracking errors or slight light dispersion. [1] H. Ries, J.M. Gordon, M. Lasken, “High-flux
photovoltaic solar concentrators with kaleidoscope-based
Another fundamental aspect regarding the dish optical designs”, Solar Energy 1997, 60, No.1, pp.11-16
concentrators is the packing of the cells at the receiver.
Indeed, all the area dedicated to the interconnections [2] C. Bingham et al., “Concentrating Photovoltaic Module
between the cells produces optical losses. However, to Testing at NREL's Concentrating Solar Radiation Users
ensure good electrical connections some standard Facility”, NCPV and Solar Program Review Meeting 2003,
specifications of the SMD (surface mounting device) NREL/CD-520-33588, pp. 218-220.
soldering processes must be followed. An image of a
detail of a dense array module is in fig.(5). The medium [3] R. Winston, R. C. Gee, “Nonimaging light concentrator
level of concentration allows us for using IMS as thermally with uniform irradiance”, Patent No.: US 6,541,694 B2,
conductive substrate material as generally used in the April 1, 2003
power electronics; this permits a low cost and high
flexibility for the electrical circuit design, for the connection
171
[4] G. Martinelli, M. Stefancich, A. Antonini, A. Ronzoni, M.

Armani, P. Zurru, L. Pancotti, A. Parretta, "Dichroic Flat
Faceted Concentrator for PV Use", Proceedings of the
International Conference on Solar Concentrators for the
Generation of Electricity or Hydrogen 2005, 1-5 May,
Scottsdale, Arizona (USA)
172
LOSS OF OPTICAL QUALITY OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC THERMAL CONCENTRATOR

DEVICE AT DIFFERENT TRACKING POSITIONS
B. Abdel Mesih, D. Chemisana, F. Badia, M. Ibañez, J.I. Rosell

Department of Medi Ambient, Universitat de Lleida, Avenue Rovira Roure 191, E25198, Lleida, Spain
ABSTRACT
The objective of this work is to apply the absorber

reflection method (ARM) implemented by Ulmer et. all to
find the loss of optical quality of a flat Fresnel-reflection
PV-T concentrator. The 11x BiFres concentrator is made
of 18 white Fresnel mirrors. The mirrors focus the
incoming rays on the thermal and PV absorber and thus all
are of equal length but at different tilt angle. The absorber
2
has 52 c-Si solar cells and a size of 0.26 m . The
concentrator is connected to two linear actuators for a 2-
axis sun-tracking capability. The working fluid is water. A
set of pictures were taken with a digital camera placed at a
certain distance perpendicular to the concentrator’s axis
orientated first towards it. The concentrator is then tilted at
different angles to see the effect of weight of mirrors on
the optical quality. A geometrical algorithm is used with the
aid of a numerical software to analyze the pictures. The
aim is to find the distribution of actual normal vector to
each mirror strip and compare it to the theoretical value.
Discrepancies between the previous two values mean that
reflected rays will miss the target (the absorber).
Consequently, the results of this work are used to further
obtain the power (electrical and heat) loss. Fig. 1 The BiFres system
INTRODUCTION
The optical quality issue has been tackled before
The reflectivity of the optical parts and their using different methods. One of the most accurate and
geometric precision influence the overall performance of precise techniques is the close range photogrammetry.
the PV/T concentrator systems. Any disorientation or Here, coordinates of reference points on the measurement
dents in the mirrors mean that there is a higher probability object are calculated from a set of digital pictures taken
that the reflected sun beams will miss their target which is from different observation points using a digital camera
the photovoltaic panel and thus affect the system’s overall which can offer high-quality mega-pixel photos [5].
thermal and electrical output. The performance of the PV/T Photogrammetry can provide coordinate measurements
system is also affected by the ageing of mirrors due to with precisions of 1:50,000 or better. The extreme
material degradation in outdoor conditions [1] and non- flexibility of photogrammetry to provide high accuracy
uniform light distribution over the PV cell [2]. three dimensional coordinate measurements over almost
An easy and effective technique suggested by Ulmer et. all any scale makes it particularly appropriate for the
[3] is implemented to find the loss of optical quality of the measurement of solar concentrator systems.
mirrors. This method is called the Absorber Reflection Photogrammetry can also provide information for the
Method (ARM) and is applied to the BiFres PV/T system analysis of curved shapes and surfaces, which can be
installed on the roof of the University of Lleida (see Fig. 1) very
BiFres is an 11X system consisting of 18 white Fresnel difficult to achieve with conventional measurement
mirrors. The mirrors focus the incoming rays on the PV techniques [6]. Another well known technique that has
absorber which is soldered on top of a flat plate collector been used since the 1970s, is the Video Scanning
with water as the working fluid. The role of water is two- Hartmann Optical Tester (VSHOT). It is a slope measuring
fold, cool down the cells and supply hot water to a storage tool for large and imprecise reflectors. In this technique a
tank [4]. laser ray scans the surface automatically and detects the
reflected beam by a video camera [7,8]. Another novel
technique is used to record at night the light of a star
173
reflected by the mirrors and the images of the mirror taken THE GEOMETRICAL ALGORITHM
from its focal region allow the reconstruction of the slope
map. The application of this technique is particularly The normal vector η to each mirror depends on
simple and at very low cost in characterization of heliostats the tilt angle αd of the each strip as seen in Fig. 3 and
that have a very large focal lengths of 100 meters or more equation (1).
[9].
THE “ARM” METHOD

η = 90 − α d (1)
The concentrator is first set in a vertical position On the other hand, the normal vector is found
with the mirrors facing the camera which is placed on a geometrically from the following relation:
metal mast. The mast is attached to the device’s frame
along the normal vector to the plane of the absorber at a
⎛α +α'⎞
fixed distance S1 from the system. The focal distance f η = 90 − ⎜ ⎟ (2)
from the absorber to the frame of the concentrator is
measured. Also other lengths are known such as the width
⎝ 2 ⎠
of the absorber, the dimensions of the concentrator
The angle α’ is calculated as:
device, the distance of each mirror from the centre of the
concentrator, and the width of each mirror strip and its
inclination αd. A set of pictures are taken in this vertical Xm Xm ´
position then the concentrator is tilted to a middle position tan α ´ = = (3)
and is finally tilted to a horizontal position. A numerical S1 S´
software is used to analyze the pictures based on a
geometrical algorithm discussed in the following section. while angle α is found from the relation:
It is important to mention that from our available
location it was not possible to get information about the X 1 + ∆x − ∆d
mirrors at the edges of the concentrator (mirrors tan α = (4)
7-9 counted from the centre) unless the camera is f − ∆y
positioned farther away which was not possible. To solve
this problem, the absorber is replaced with a wooden
Xm
target of the same width (see Fig. 2), painted black to
observe the reflections, and situated on a sliding rail. This
gives us the opportunity to slide the absorber (target) left X1 ∆x
and right to see the reflections on the mirrors at the edges
of the device. The algorithm includes the parameter ∆d ∆y
that represents the offset of the absorber from the centre αd
of the device due to such movement. η
f
∆d α
S1 Reflection of the
absorber on one
mirror strip
absorber
α´
Camera lens
S´
α´
Camera sensor
ℓ2´
Xm´
Fig. 3 The ARM geometrical algorithm

With the values of angles in equations 3 and 4 in hand,
Fig. 2 The wooden target with the reflections on the both equations 1 and 2 can be compared. Discrepancies
mirrors between the two equations reflect the loss of optical
quality as shown in the values of the Root Mean Square
Errors (RMSE).
174
EVALUATION AND RESULTS Mirror # RMSE in mrad

& location Concentrator at vertical position
It is expected that the most dramatic effect in
terms of errors will be vivid when the concentrator is in the 1R 4,767
horizontal position because the mirrors weights’ are acting 2R 5,757
perpendicular to the concentrator. On the other hand the 3R 8,501
lowest errors are at the vertical position while at the
4R 7,697
horizontal position errors depend on the cosine of the tilt
angle. Also errors in the location of the camera play a very 5R 5,941
crucial factor in calculating the RMSE because that leads 6R 4,644
to a change in the perspective. The output of the picture 7R 14,884
analysis is not up to the standard and shows a great error 8R 13,098
due to the camera position on the mast. The mast tends to
slightly bend forward or to the sides as the concentrator is 9R 88,493
moved. This leads to problems in the perspective where Average for 17,087
sides of the concentrator which are parallel in reality, are Right mirrors
no longer seen parallel in the pictures. Nevertheless, the
1L 0,579
results show that the RMSE increases with the increase of
the distance from the centre of the concentrator. That 2L 2,337
means mirrors on the edges have higher errors than the 3L 1,036
ones in the middle. An interpretation to that is that mirrors 4L 1,259
have less width as we move away from the absorber to 5L 1,433
avoid having the reflections on the back of the previous
mirror. Accordingly, wider mirrors are less susceptible to 6L 1,773
bending. The length of the concentrator is more than 2.5 7L 1,667
meters and practically it is not possible to transport one 8L 4,107
sheet of mirror that long. Therefore, shorter mirrors are 9L 2,519
supplied as a number of strips in different lengths. The
longer strips tend to bend more than the shorter ones. This Average for 1,857
bending is obvious in locations away from the metal left mirrors
guides or groves that hold the mirrors. Average for 9,472
Other important factor is the aging of the mirrors. all mirrors
The concentrator has been available on the roof of the
university for about five years including a couple of years Table 1. The Root Mean Square Errors for the 18 mirrors
standing idle. The wind, rain, and dust are factors for
decreasing the efficiency of the mirrors or slightly Table 1 show that results are quite reasonable for such a
deforming the frame of the device with years. Also the system with the available experimental settings and
misalignments of the mirror strips affect the optical quality equipment. The left side mirrors show much lower errors
of the reflectors. When a broken strip is replaced, the new than the right ones. It is also clear that the results could
mirror might be shifted a few millimeters from the ideal th
have been much better if the 9 mirror on the right was in
position. In figure 4, the reflection on two mirrors is shifted proper condition. Without this mirror the average would
to the right as compared to the leftmost mirror. This is an have been 5 milli radians.
example of the misalignment problem.
CONCLUSIONS
The absorber reflection method has proved to be

a very effective and simple tool to assess the slope map of
the concentrator system. The method was originally
applied to parabolic trough concentrators. This work has
Fig. 4 Misalignment of mirrors proved the validity of it with linear reflector systems too.
Results can be improved by accurate and precise setups,
precisely positioning the camera along the normal to the
A summary of the results for the vertical position of the concentrator, and using professional image analysis
device is presented in the following table: software that also solves issues like perspective.
Nevertheless, the results have to be justified by comparing
it to the well established techniques of close-range
photogrammetry or VSHOT. The ARM method is useful in
determining the slope errors with the change of the angle
of the concentrator device, find the misalignments of the
mirror strips, and to improve both the device’s optical
components and structure.
175
The knowledge of the optical quality of mirrors is crucial in [9] F. Arqueros, A. Jiménez a, A. Valverde. “A novel
further research concerning the power output of the procedure for the optical characterization of solar
concentrator system. concentrators”. Solar Energy 2003.75, pp.135-142.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to mention that this work is

made under the patronage of the Marie Curie Early Stage
Research Training Network. This paper is one of the
outcomes of the “SolNet” advanced solar heating and
cooling for buildings program which is the first coordinated
international PhD education program on solar thermal
engineering.
REFERENCES
[1] M. Brogen. “Optical efficiency of low-concentrating

solar energy systems with parabolic reflectors”.
Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from
the Faculty of Science and Technology 934. 2004
[2] J. Nilsson. “Optical design and characterization of

solar concentrators for photovoltaics”. Division of Energy
and Building Design, Department of Architecture and
Built Environment.Lund University, Faculty of
Engineering LTH, 2005. Report EBD-T--05/6
[3] S. Ulmer, B. Heinz, K. Pottler and E. Lüpfert. “Slope

error measurements of parabolic troughs using the
reflected image of the absorber tube”. 13th International
Symposium on concentrating solar power and chemical
energy technology: SolarPaces. Seville, Spain. June 20-
23, 2006.
[4] J.I. Rosell, X.Vallverdu, M. Lechon, M.Ibañez. “Design

and simulation of a low concentrating photovoltaic/thermal
systems”. Energy Conversion and Management 2005. 46,
pp. 3034-3046.
[5] K.Pottler, E. Lümpert, G. Johnston, M. Shortis.

“Photogrammetry: A powerful tool for geometric analysis of
solar concentrators and their components” Journal of Solar
Energy Engineering 2005. 127. pp. 94-101.
[6] T. Wendelin, K. May, R. Gee. “Video Scanning

Hartmann Optical Testing of state-of the-art parabolic
trough concentrators” Solar 2006 Conference (ISEC ’06)
Denver, Colorado. July 8–13, 2006.
[7] M.Shortis, G. Johnston, K. Pottler, E. Lüpfert.

“Photogrametric analysis of solar concentrators”.
12th Australasian remote sensing and photogrammetry
conference, Fremantle, Australia 2004.
[8] S. Jones, J. Gruetzner, R. Houser, R. Edgar, T.

Wendelin. “VSHOT Measurement Uncertainity and
Experimental Sensitivity Study”. U.S. Department of
Energy:Office of Scientific & Technical Information 1997
176

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4th International Conference on Solar Concentrators for the Generation of Electricity or Hydrogen

MIRROR REFLECTING COST EFFECTIVE PV SOLAR ENERGY

Fig. 1. Initial version of mirror reflecting

Produced power per day ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

DAY4TM PV RECEIVERS AND HEAT SINKS FOR SUN CONCENTRATION

L. Rubin1, V. Nebusov1, Ralf Leutz2, A. Schneider1, A Osipov1, V. Tarasenko1

ABSTRACT wires become soldered to front side fingers and to rear

1.2 mm contacted by Day4TMElectrode (wire gap is 6 mm). 8

Outdoor testing was performed using the same 3

Figure 5: Dependence of Pmpp on sun concentration. 4 Voc = 15.02 V

OPTICAL ANALYSIS OF ASYMMETRIC COMPOUND PARABOLIC PHOTOVOLTAIC

Yupeng Wu a, Philip C. Eames a and Mervyn Smyth b

Abstract Concentrator systems which increase the solar radiation

Solar energy is a clean energy source with the potential to

Figure 1 ACPPVC system with acceptance-half angles of 50° and 0°

Energy Distribution across the PV cells

The two dimensional ray trace technique was also

This work was supported by the School of Engineering,

Boyle, G (2004) Renewable Energy: Power for a

Winston, R., Miñano J. C. and Benítez, P. (2005)

LINEAR FRESNEL LENSES WITH PHOTOVOLTAICS FOR COST EFFECTIVE

ABSTRACT benefits of CPVs. Regarding high concentration Fresnel

The advantage of linear Fresnel lenses to separate

EFFECT OF A SECONDARY LINEAR CONCENTRATOR ON THE SI SOLAR CELL

Chemisana, D., Ibáñez, M., Abdel Mesih, B., Rosell, J.I.

ABSTRACT uniform distribution of solar flux, at the solar cells, lowered

For the Gaussian illumination distribution the 0 C1

[5] J. Rosell, M. Ibáñez. “Modelling power output in

Fig.8. Radiation pattern of the Fresnel with the

It is shown that the use of a simple secondary optics

This work was supported by the MCYT (Spain) (ENE2004-

[1] Lorenzo, E., Luque, E. “Fresnel lens analysis for solar

[2] Al-Jumaily, K.E,J., Al-Kaysi, M.K.A. “The study of the

[3] Leutz, R., Suzuki, A., Akisawa, A., Kashiwagi, T.

[4] Leutz, R., Suzuki, A., Akisawa, A., Kashiwagi, T.

SEGMENTED CONE CONCENTRATORS: OPTICAL DESIGN

These cones are intended as one-axis tracking linear

The design of a single segment cone concentrator

Figure 3: Geometrical concentration ratio and wall

The problem is to distribute the concentrations C1

in such a way that both sets of mirror segments

With the sine-relation applied to the triangle BAA’, ⎛ ⎛ C −1⎞⎞ (3)

Cgeo = 1 + 2 cos 2ψ . (1)

The sum of Eqn. 1 gives

yielding the inclination angle of the first wall in a

Figure 5: Geometrical concentration ratio vs. height of

DESIGNS WITH GAPS

For the first segment, the inclination angle ψ must be

It is possible to design linear cone concentrators with

The introduction of a gap between the receiver and

MIRRORS BASED ON TOTAL REFLECTION FOR CONCENTRATION PV PANELS

E. Karvelas1, A. Papadopoulos1, D. Dousis1 Y. P. Markopoulos1 E. Mathioulakis2, G. Panaras2, V. Vamvakas3

ABSTRACT This study provides the solution to some of the

manufacturing process capable of forming the sharp

Fig 1. Prism design and associated sunray reflection

At this point the ray is reflected again at the opposite

Fig. 3. (a, Upper) Imposed radius to the edges of TRM due

Fig. 4. (a, Upper) Irradiance map on the focus plane

The results of the simulation of the final TRM

TRMs made on glass after 3 years of operation have

Fig. 7 (a, Upper) The installation of PROTEAS PV System.

OPTICAL TAILORING OF FLAT FACETED COLLECTOR FOR OPTIMAL FLUX

lowest illumination. It is therefore important to achieve an