Open AccessExperimental measurements of a prototype high concentration Fresnel lens CPV module for the harvesting of diffuse solar radiation
Author(s) -
Noboru Yamada,
Kazuya Okamoto
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.22.000a28
Subject(s) - fresnel lens , optics , solar cell , concentrator , materials science , solar simulator , solar mirror , radiation , lens (geology) , aperture (computer memory) , solar cell efficiency , nonimaging optics , optoelectronics , photovoltaic system , irradiation , photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector , physics , electrical engineering , acoustics , nuclear physics , engineering
A prototype concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) module with high solar concentration, an added low-cost solar cell, and an adjoining multi-junction solar cell is fabricated and experimentally demonstrated. In the present CPV module, the low cost solar cell captures diffuse solar radiation penetrating the concentrator lens and the multi-junction cell captures concentrated direct solar radiation. On-sun test results show that the electricity generated by a Fresnel lens-based CPV module with an additional crystalline silicon solar cell is greater than that for a conventional CPV module by a factor of 1.44 when the mean ratio of diffuse normal irradiation to global normal irradiation at the module aperture is 0.4. Several fundamental optical characteristics are presented for the present module.