The compound parabolic concentrators for solar photovoltaic applications: Opportunities and challenges
The amount of electrical energy produced by a given solar photovoltaic module can be increased by using concentrated solar radiation. The task can be accomplished by integrating optical concentrators with flat PV modules. Compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) have emerged as one of the best option...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Energy Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484722019515 |
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| author | Faisal Masood Nursyarizal B. Mohd Nor Irraivan Elamvazuthi R. Saidur Mohammad Azad Alam Javed Akhter Mohammad Yusuf Shahid M. Ali Mohsin Sattar Maveeya Baba |
| author_facet | Faisal Masood Nursyarizal B. Mohd Nor Irraivan Elamvazuthi R. Saidur Mohammad Azad Alam Javed Akhter Mohammad Yusuf Shahid M. Ali Mohsin Sattar Maveeya Baba |
| author_sort | Faisal Masood |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The amount of electrical energy produced by a given solar photovoltaic module can be increased by using concentrated solar radiation. The task can be accomplished by integrating optical concentrators with flat PV modules. Compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) have emerged as one of the best options for concentrating PV applications due to their ability to collect both direct and diffuse solar radiation and being suitable for stationary installation. Over the last few decades, various designs of CPCs have been proposed and investigated by many researchers for concentrating PV applications. This article presents a comprehensive review of recent developments in CPC designs and applications for PV systems. This work mainly focuses on identifying the major challenges and research opportunities related to the design and development of CPCs, rendering them more beneficial for solar energy conversion. It has been found that although the outputs of CPC-based PV systems are superior to their counterparts without CPCs, some challenges still exist that need to be addressed to enable the commercialization of CPC-based solar systems. The primary sources of energy losses in CPCs include imperfections in the reflecting surfaces, non-uniform solar flux distribution on the receiver surface, solar cell series resistance, increased solar cell temperature due to solar radiation concentration, and relatively low concentration ratios achievable by CPCs. Finally, future recommendations have been outlined, highlighting the potential research opportunities and challenges being faced by prospective researchers working in the field of low concentrating solar PV systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:09:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c3b128a58c6441c2a5b4223db622c138 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2352-4847 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:09:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energy Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-c3b128a58c6441c2a5b4223db622c1382023-02-21T05:14:01ZengElsevierEnergy Reports2352-48472022-11-0181355813584The compound parabolic concentrators for solar photovoltaic applications: Opportunities and challengesFaisal Masood0Nursyarizal B. Mohd Nor1Irraivan Elamvazuthi2R. Saidur3Mohammad Azad Alam4Javed Akhter5Mohammad Yusuf6Shahid M. Ali7Mohsin Sattar8Maveeya Baba9Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia; Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Taxila, 47080, Rawalpindi, Pakistan; Corresponding author at: Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, Malaysia.Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, MalaysiaResearch Center for Nano-Materials and Energy Technology (RCNMET), School of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya 47500, Selangor, MalaysiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, MalaysiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Taxila, 47080, Rawalpindi, PakistanDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, MalaysiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar 32610, Perak, MalaysiaThe amount of electrical energy produced by a given solar photovoltaic module can be increased by using concentrated solar radiation. The task can be accomplished by integrating optical concentrators with flat PV modules. Compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) have emerged as one of the best options for concentrating PV applications due to their ability to collect both direct and diffuse solar radiation and being suitable for stationary installation. Over the last few decades, various designs of CPCs have been proposed and investigated by many researchers for concentrating PV applications. This article presents a comprehensive review of recent developments in CPC designs and applications for PV systems. This work mainly focuses on identifying the major challenges and research opportunities related to the design and development of CPCs, rendering them more beneficial for solar energy conversion. It has been found that although the outputs of CPC-based PV systems are superior to their counterparts without CPCs, some challenges still exist that need to be addressed to enable the commercialization of CPC-based solar systems. The primary sources of energy losses in CPCs include imperfections in the reflecting surfaces, non-uniform solar flux distribution on the receiver surface, solar cell series resistance, increased solar cell temperature due to solar radiation concentration, and relatively low concentration ratios achievable by CPCs. Finally, future recommendations have been outlined, highlighting the potential research opportunities and challenges being faced by prospective researchers working in the field of low concentrating solar PV systems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484722019515Compound parabolic concentratorsOptical efficiencyRay-tracing simulationsSolar irradianceNon-uniform illuminationSolar flux distribution |
| spellingShingle | Faisal Masood Nursyarizal B. Mohd Nor Irraivan Elamvazuthi R. Saidur Mohammad Azad Alam Javed Akhter Mohammad Yusuf Shahid M. Ali Mohsin Sattar Maveeya Baba The compound parabolic concentrators for solar photovoltaic applications: Opportunities and challenges Energy Reports Compound parabolic concentrators Optical efficiency Ray-tracing simulations Solar irradiance Non-uniform illumination Solar flux distribution |
| title | The compound parabolic concentrators for solar photovoltaic applications: Opportunities and challenges |
| title_full | The compound parabolic concentrators for solar photovoltaic applications: Opportunities and challenges |
| title_fullStr | The compound parabolic concentrators for solar photovoltaic applications: Opportunities and challenges |
| title_full_unstemmed | The compound parabolic concentrators for solar photovoltaic applications: Opportunities and challenges |
| title_short | The compound parabolic concentrators for solar photovoltaic applications: Opportunities and challenges |
| title_sort | compound parabolic concentrators for solar photovoltaic applications opportunities and challenges |
| topic | Compound parabolic concentrators Optical efficiency Ray-tracing simulations Solar irradiance Non-uniform illumination Solar flux distribution |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484722019515 |
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