CPV System Optical Performance Evaluation by Means of Direct Experimental Measurement Procedure

Carlo Renno () and Fabio Petito
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Carlo Renno: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, Italy
Fabio Petito: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, 84084 Fisciano, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: The optics is the component that most affects the concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) system performance, depending above all on the concentration factor and optical efficiency. Hence, a basic aspect is the concentrated solar flux measure on the receiving area, the evaluation of which is principally realized by indirect measurement methods. First, a literature review on indirect and direct methods used for the evaluation of concentrated solar flux and optical parameters is presented in this paper. The experimental measurement procedure, which is able to evaluate the optical parameters and concentrated solar flux in CPV systems, is also presented. The main steps of this procedure are represented by experimental system setup, sensor selection for concentrated solar flux estimation, identification of all the factors affecting optical performances, and development of an experimental campaign and output analysis. In particular, the optical characterization results of a CPV system are obtained by means of in-depth experimental analysis using Triple-Junction (TJ) solar cells with areas of 5.5 × 5.5 mm 2 and 10 × 10 mm 2 . Three different setups have been analyzed related to primary and secondary optics composition. The main aim of this paper is the determination of a direct measuring technique, rarely adopted in literature in comparison to the established techniques, that is able to evaluate experimentally the optical parameter values and that can be standardized for other CPV systems. In particular, equations that link the optical concentration factor (C) and efficiency (η opt ) with focal distance (h) represent the fundamental results. They can be used for similar point-focus configurations presenting the same TJ cell size and ranges of C, η opt and h. Finally, the experimental results of the direct method are compared with those of an indirect method adopting the same CPV system and operational conditions.

Keywords: concentrating photovoltaic; optical efficiency; concentrated solar flux; direct measurement; experimental results (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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