Evaluation of a Facade Integrated Concentrating Solar Collector System

摘要

The use of building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPVT) collector modules is one of the most effective ways to harness the solar energy within the building environment. Using static reflectors along with BIPVT absorbers may be a cost effective way to utilize these in facade applications. In order to precisely predict the overall performance of such building integrated facade collectors it is crucial to develop a mathematical model that represents such systems. As such, a mathematical model was developed to describe the performance of a facade integrated BIPVT solar concentrator system and subsequently this was validated with a physical prototype. Using the validated model, a sensitivity analysis was performed to determine the design parameters that significantly influence the efficiency of the collector. It was shown that key parameters such as tube spacing and thermal conductivity between the solar cell and the absorber have a significant effect on the overall efficiency while mass flow rate does not have any significant effect on the overall performance.