Impact study of operating temperatures and cell layout under different concentration factors in a CPC-PV solar collector in combination with a vertical glass receiver composed by bifacial cells

Solar Collectors with Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) reflectors redirect solar irradiance into the receiver (placed in optimal position). The concept of such devices is to reduce the installation area and energy costs [1]. This research focuses on the behaviour and efficiency of a stationary CPC-PV solar collector. Each trough of this collector has different concentration factors (1.25 and 1.66) with vertically placed bi-facial cell receivers. An analysis of the electrical efficiency is performed in order to evaluate the viability of a CPC geometry with a vertical bifacial PV receiver. Furthermore, an investigation on bifacial cells performance due to concentration (and consequently increased cell temperature) is carried out. A numerical simulation of the yearly available radiation and the Incident Angle Modifiers (IAM) for each geometry is also conducted. Finally, a comparison between the simulations and the outdoor testing on the prototype collector is detailed. The tests took place in Gävle, Sweden (61º Latitude). The results showed that higher concentration factors led to larger operating temperatures (114ºC for a concentration factor of 1.66 and 96ºC for a concentration factor of 1.25). Although this may compromise the cell performance and shorten the device’s life cycle, it is shown that appropriate ventilation will allow manageable operating temperatures.