WO2013120992A1 - Reflective solar concentrator - Google Patents

Reflective solar concentrator Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2013120992A1
WO2013120992A1 PCT/EP2013/053071 EP2013053071W WO2013120992A1 WO 2013120992 A1 WO2013120992 A1 WO 2013120992A1 EP 2013053071 W EP2013053071 W EP 2013053071W WO 2013120992 A1 WO2013120992 A1 WO 2013120992A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
mirror
concentrator
reflective
photovoltaic cell
reflective surface
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2013/053071
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Marek WESOLOWSKI
Wlodzimierz Strupinski
Original Assignee
Isos Technologies Sarl
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Isos Technologies Sarl filed Critical Isos Technologies Sarl
Publication of WO2013120992A1 publication Critical patent/WO2013120992A1/en

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
    • H01L31/054—Optical elements directly associated or integrated with the PV cell, e.g. light-reflecting means or light-concentrating means
    • H01L31/0547—Optical elements directly associated or integrated with the PV cell, e.g. light-reflecting means or light-concentrating means comprising light concentrating means of the reflecting type, e.g. parabolic mirrors, concentrators using total internal reflection
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24S—SOLAR HEAT COLLECTORS; SOLAR HEAT SYSTEMS
    • F24S23/00—Arrangements for concentrating solar-rays for solar heat collectors
    • F24S23/70—Arrangements for concentrating solar-rays for solar heat collectors with reflectors
    • F24S23/71—Arrangements for concentrating solar-rays for solar heat collectors with reflectors with parabolic reflective surfaces
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24S—SOLAR HEAT COLLECTORS; SOLAR HEAT SYSTEMS
    • F24S80/00—Details, accessories or component parts of solar heat collectors not provided for in groups F24S10/00-F24S70/00
    • F24S80/50—Elements for transmitting incoming solar rays and preventing outgoing heat radiation; Transparent coverings
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
    • F24S—SOLAR HEAT COLLECTORS; SOLAR HEAT SYSTEMS
    • F24S23/00—Arrangements for concentrating solar-rays for solar heat collectors
    • F24S23/70—Arrangements for concentrating solar-rays for solar heat collectors with reflectors
    • F24S23/79—Arrangements for concentrating solar-rays for solar heat collectors with reflectors with spaced and opposed interacting reflective surfaces
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/40—Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
    • Y02E10/52—PV systems with concentrators

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a medium- or high-concentration reflective solar concentrator for application in photovoltaics.
  • the concentrator according to the invention has an increased orientation error tolerance with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation.
  • Multi-junction solar cells achieve top efficiency levels at a light intensity several hundred times higher than the intensity of direct sunlight on the Earth's surface.
  • efficiency increase the use of reflective solar concentrators results, more importantly, in a radical decrease in the cost of solar panels with various power rates. Due to the application of the relatively inexpensive concentrator made predominantly of plastic, it is attainable to reduce the size of a costly active surface of the cell from 100 to 1000 times.
  • the already known concentrators have a particularly low tolerance to the orientation error of the concentrator module with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation. In badly-oriented concentrators part of the sunlight misses the cell and is not used. Increasing the tolerance to the orientation error of the concentrator module is fundamental for the production of panels of high-concentration modules.
  • WO 20 1 0 1 3 1 1 64 A2 disc loses a c o m p lex so la r concentrator, comprising essentially two components: a big Fresnel lens and an additional two-part reflective solar concentrator. Light beams from these two main components are connected in an element called a homogenizer. However, the homogenizer does not provide correction of the orientation error of the concentrator with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation.
  • US 2005 040977 Al discloses a solar concentrator comprising an annular element surrounding a photo-voltaic cell.
  • the element is empty inside and provides a space for a cooling fluid, flowing through it.
  • the function of this element is to dissipate the heat. Intentionally, the surface of this element shou ld tota lly fit inside the shade cast by the secondary reflector. No correction of the orientation error of the concentrator with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation is provided.
  • the purpose of the present invention is to provide a reflective solar concentrator with a high tolerance to the orientation error of a concentrator module with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation.
  • a reflective solar concentrator including a parabolic primary mirror, a secondary mirror and a photovoltaic cell, positioned in relation to each other so that during its utilization the sunlight falls on the parabolic primary mirror, is reflected on the secondary mirror and then is reflected by the secondary mirror towards the photovoltaic cell, is characterized in that it has an additional mirror, the reflective surface of which surrounds the photovoltaic cell.
  • the additional mirror takes the form of a sleeve, the inner surface of which is a reflective surface.
  • the reflective surface of the additional mirror makes the angle a with the surface of the photovoltaic cell, the value of which varies between 15° and 30°.
  • the concentrator according to the invention has rotational symmetry.
  • the axis of rotational symmetry coincides with the optical axis of the concentrator.
  • the additional mirror is made of plastic or metal with a reflective surface.
  • the concentrator has a transparent cover.
  • fig. 1 presents a schematic cross-sectional view of the concentrator module
  • fig. 2 presents optical paths of rays in two instances of deviation of the concentrator from the direction of the incident rays
  • fig. 3 presents a schematic cross-sectional view of an element of the additional mirror.
  • a reflective panel of photovoltaic solar concentrators consists of modules, a schematic cross-sectional view of which is presented in fig. 1 .
  • the su n ' s radiation 1 falls on a parabolic primary mirror 6, is reflected on a secondary mirror 3 which ultimately directs the radiation at an active surface of a photovoltaic cell 4.
  • An innovative element of the invention is an additional mirror 8 with a flange-shaped reflective surface 7 surrounding the active surface of the cell 4.
  • the surface 7 is the inner surface of the mirror 8 which is in the form of a sleeve made of plastic or metal with a reflective surface.
  • the mirror's 8 function is to direct the sun's radiation at the active surface of the cell 4 whenever the concentration of the concentrator deviates from an ideal one; that is, when a light beam 1 is deviated from the optical axis 2 to a greater degree than in the case of a correct (accurate) orientation of the concentrator in relation to the Sun. Even if a light beam reflected from the secondary mirror 3 is directed outside the active area of the cell 4, it may be still reflected by the surface of the mirror 7 and fall at the surface of the cell, as is shown in fig. 2 for two optical paths I and II.
  • the value of the angle a for the mirror 8, which is presented in fig. 3, varies between 15° and 30°.
  • the surface 7 must be a reflective surface (or must have a reflective covering).
  • the angle a (alpha) the value of which generally falls within the range from 15° to 30° must be selected adequately to specific dimensions of the concentrator.
  • the volume of the element 8, having the reflective surface 7, is irrelevant. By default it roughly corresponds to a complement of the cone, having the surface 7, to a cylinder, in the direction outside of the axis 2.
  • l mirror 8 in the reflective solar concentrator according to the invention allows increase tolerance to the orientation error of the concentrator module with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation up to around 5°, owing to which it is possible to widen the range of permissible installation errors during the installation of particular modules of the panel. Achieving such effect by enlarging the size of the active area of the cell is less economic than the presented method.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Sustainable Energy (AREA)
  • Sustainable Development (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Photovoltaic Devices (AREA)
  • Optical Elements Other Than Lenses (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention relates to a reflective solar concentrator including a parabolic primary mirror (6), a secondary mirror (3) and a photovoltaic cell (4), positioned in relation to each other so that during its utilization the sunlight (1) falling on the parabolic primary mirror (6) is reflected on the secondary mirror (3) and then is reflected by the secondary mirror (3) towards the photovoltaic cell (4) characterized in that it has an additional mirror (8), the reflective surface of which (7) surrounds the photovoltaic cell (4).

Description

Reflective solar concentrator
The present invention relates to a medium- or high-concentration reflective solar concentrator for application in photovoltaics. The concentrator according to the invention has an increased orientation error tolerance with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation.
Multi-junction solar cells achieve top efficiency levels at a light intensity several hundred times higher than the intensity of direct sunlight on the Earth's surface. In addition to solar cells efficiency increase, the use of reflective solar concentrators results, more importantly, in a radical decrease in the cost of solar panels with various power rates. Due to the application of the relatively inexpensive concentrator made predominantly of plastic, it is attainable to reduce the size of a costly active surface of the cell from 100 to 1000 times.
The already known concentrators have a particularly low tolerance to the orientation error of the concentrator module with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation. In badly-oriented concentrators part of the sunlight misses the cell and is not used. Increasing the tolerance to the orientation error of the concentrator module is fundamental for the production of panels of high-concentration modules.
For exa m p le, WO 20 1 0 1 3 1 1 64 A2 disc loses a c o m p lex so la r concentrator, comprising essentially two components: a big Fresnel lens and an additional two-part reflective solar concentrator. Light beams from these two main components are connected in an element called a homogenizer. However, the homogenizer does not provide correction of the orientation error of the concentrator with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation.
US 2005 040977 Al discloses a solar concentrator comprising an annular element surrounding a photo-voltaic cell. The element is empty inside and provides a space for a cooling fluid, flowing through it. The function of this element is to dissipate the heat. Intentionally, the surface of this element shou ld tota lly fit inside the shade cast by the secondary reflector. No correction of the orientation error of the concentrator with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation is provided.
Hence, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a reflective solar concentrator with a high tolerance to the orientation error of a concentrator module with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation.
According to the present invention, a reflective solar concentrator including a parabolic primary mirror, a secondary mirror and a photovoltaic cell, positioned in relation to each other so that during its utilization the sunlight falls on the parabolic primary mirror, is reflected on the secondary mirror and then is reflected by the secondary mirror towards the photovoltaic cell, is characterized in that it has an additional mirror, the reflective surface of which surrounds the photovoltaic cell.
Preferably, the additional mirror takes the form of a sleeve, the inner surface of which is a reflective surface.
Preferably, the reflective surface of the additional mirror makes the angle a with the surface of the photovoltaic cell, the value of which varies between 15° and 30°.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the concentrator according to the invention has rotational symmetry.
If that is the case, preferably, the axis of rotational symmetry coincides with the optical axis of the concentrator.
Particularly preferably, the additional mirror is made of plastic or metal with a reflective surface.
According to the present invention, preferably, the concentrator has a transparent cover.
The present invention will be described in greater detail in the preferred embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: fig. 1 presents a schematic cross-sectional view of the concentrator module, fig. 2 presents optical paths of rays in two instances of deviation of the concentrator from the direction of the incident rays, whereas fig. 3 presents a schematic cross-sectional view of an element of the additional mirror.
The following numerals are used in the figures : 1 - Optical paths of the sun's rays, 2 - optical axis a nd the axis of rotational symmetry of the concentrator, 3 - secondary mirror, 4 - active photovoltaic element (a cell), 5 - transparent cover, 6 - parabolic primary mirror, 7 - reflective surface of the additional mirror, 8 - additional mirror, a (alpha) - mirror angle.
Preferred embodiment of the invention
A reflective panel of photovoltaic solar concentrators consists of modules, a schematic cross-sectional view of which is presented in fig. 1 . The su n ' s radiation 1 falls on a parabolic primary mirror 6, is reflected on a secondary mirror 3 which ultimately directs the radiation at an active surface of a photovoltaic cell 4. An innovative element of the invention is an additional mirror 8 with a flange-shaped reflective surface 7 surrounding the active surface of the cell 4. The surface 7 is the inner surface of the mirror 8 which is in the form of a sleeve made of plastic or metal with a reflective surface. The mirror's 8 function is to direct the sun's radiation at the active surface of the cell 4 whenever the concentration of the concentrator deviates from an ideal one; that is, when a light beam 1 is deviated from the optical axis 2 to a greater degree than in the case of a correct (accurate) orientation of the concentrator in relation to the Sun. Even if a light beam reflected from the secondary mirror 3 is directed outside the active area of the cell 4, it may be still reflected by the surface of the mirror 7 and fall at the surface of the cell, as is shown in fig. 2 for two optical paths I and II. The value of the angle a for the mirror 8, which is presented in fig. 3, varies between 15° and 30°. The surface 7 must be a reflective surface (or must have a reflective covering). In addition, the angle a (alpha), the value of which generally falls within the range from 15° to 30° must be selected adequately to specific dimensions of the concentrator. On the other hand, the volume of the element 8, having the reflective surface 7, is irrelevant. By default it roughly corresponds to a complement of the cone, having the surface 7, to a cylinder, in the direction outside of the axis 2.
Using the additiona l mirror 8 in the reflective solar concentrator according to the invention allows increase tolerance to the orientation error of the concentrator module with respect to the direction of the sun's radiation up to around 5°, owing to which it is possible to widen the range of permissible installation errors during the installation of particular modules of the panel. Achieving such effect by enlarging the size of the active area of the cell is less economic than the presented method.

Claims

Claims
1 . A reflective solar concentrator including a parabolic primary mirror (6), a secondary mirror (3) and a photovoltaic cell (4), positioned in relation to each other so that during its utilization the sunlight (1 ) falling on the parabolic primary mirror (6) is reflected on the secondary mirror (3) and then is reflected by the secondary mirror (3) towards the photovoltaic cell (4) characterized in that it has an additional mirror (8), the reflective surface of which (7) surrounds the photovoltaic cell (4).
2. The concentrator according to claim 1 , characterized in that the additional mirror (8) takes the form of a sleeve, the inner surface of which is a reflective surface.
3. The concentrator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reflective surface (7) of the additional mirror (8) makes the angle a with the surface of the photovoltaic cell (4), the value of which varies between 15° and 30°.
4. The concentrator according to claim 1 , 2 or 3, characterized in that it has rotational symmetry.
5. The concentrator according to claim 4, characterized in that the axis of rotational symmetry coincides with the optical axis (2) of the concentrator. ό. The concentrator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the additional mirror (8) is made of plastic or metal with a reflective surface (7).
7. The concentrator according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a transparent cover (5).
PCT/EP2013/053071 2012-02-17 2013-02-15 Reflective solar concentrator WO2013120992A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PLP-398154 2012-02-17
PL398154A PL398154A1 (en) 2012-02-17 2012-02-17 Reflexive solar concentrator

Publications (1)

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WO2013120992A1 true WO2013120992A1 (en) 2013-08-22

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Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20050046977A1 (en) 2003-09-02 2005-03-03 Eli Shifman Solar energy utilization unit and solar energy utilization system
US20090114265A1 (en) * 2007-11-03 2009-05-07 Solfocus, Inc. Solar Concentrator
US20100263709A1 (en) * 2009-04-15 2010-10-21 Richard Norman Systems for cost-effective concentration and utilization of solar energy
WO2010131164A2 (en) 2009-05-14 2010-11-18 Aerosun Technologies Ag Solar concentrator

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20050046977A1 (en) 2003-09-02 2005-03-03 Eli Shifman Solar energy utilization unit and solar energy utilization system
US20090114265A1 (en) * 2007-11-03 2009-05-07 Solfocus, Inc. Solar Concentrator
US20100263709A1 (en) * 2009-04-15 2010-10-21 Richard Norman Systems for cost-effective concentration and utilization of solar energy
WO2010131164A2 (en) 2009-05-14 2010-11-18 Aerosun Technologies Ag Solar concentrator

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Publication number Publication date
PL398154A1 (en) 2013-08-19

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