A Numerical Investigation of the Feasibility of a Concentrating Photovoltaic Thermal System based on Point-Focus Fresnel Lens

Abstract

Concentrated Photovoltaic Thermal (CPVT) systems are a hybrid of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) and photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems that use optics such as lenses to concentrate a significant amount of sunlight onto photovoltaic surfaces to produce electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. The CPVT model equipped with MJPV (InGaP/InGaAs/Ge) solar cells, point-focus Fresnel lenses, heat sinks, and a cooling pipe has been numerically investigated. A numerical model was developed to investigate and evaluate the thermal and electrical performance of the proposed model under various input and output parameters. The inputs consisted of HTF flow rates, HTF inlet temperature, incident radiation, concentration ratio, and the optical efficiency of the Fresnel lens. In contrast, the outputs consisted of the HTF outlet temperature, MJPV cell temperature, and thermal and electrical efficiency. The results show that the highest thermal and electrical efficiencies occurred at a mass flow rate of 0.025 kg/s, and their values were 85.31% and 35.74%, respectively. The results also demonstrate that concentration ratio affects the electrical characteristics. Finally, the results indicated that CPVT is a promising renewable energy system and has an excellent possibility of being competitive with conventional power generation systems.