Building-integrated Solar-Thermal CPV with linear concentration

Summary

Lightfarm is a proposal for utilizing building facade, rooftop and Louvred roofs to collect and concentrate light rays and generate electrical power using CPV photovoltaic cells. This kind of PV is two times more efficient than normal silicon PV cells and is suitable for concentrated light.

So, instead of using conventional photovoltaic of 12% to 19% efficiency, the sunlight would be concentrated onto a narrow a stripe of LCPV using the thin plastic Fresnel lenses.  

While LCPV generates the electricity for the household at a relatively efficient rate of 25%, 75% of previously waste of energy is transmitted to heat-sinks and extracted for water and space heating purposes.

The main advantage of CPV over PV is its higher efficiency in converting light energy into electricity, resulting in less land area being required for CPV than for PV. However, many large-scale CPV deployments are in desert regions where the price of land is low so that the greater efficiency of CPV does not translate into an economic advantage.

Adapting CPV technology for urban deployment where the value of land or roof area is significant, introduces situations in which CPV has a higher return than PV and thus a more economically viable option. 

LIGHT FARM

(Light Harvesting)

 MAIN FEATURES OF THE SYSTEM

-Heat generation even in cold but sunny winter days: The main advantage of this system is the capacity to harvest sun Heat even in winter days as the concentration let us to collect the whole energy of the sun light in a small area and overcome the problem of current thermal systems which is equity of sunlight absorption and ambient loss due to very low temperature of the ambient in winter


-Power generation with high efficiency (28% Cell / 22% Module efficiency)

-Integration with building: Integration of system with buildings could be considered an advantage as it could be a substitution to an existing building component such as façade or Louvred roofs which means a very considerable cut in building construction expenses.

-Active tracking system: Deployment of active solar sensor, drivers and actuators to increase the module reception of sunlight with a relatively short travelling strike.

Modular one-axis tracker

Louvred roofs as the most promising building component for CPV integration

Louvre roof  costs can vary from company to company, but in general they start around $1,000 per square meter. A CPV System with dual function have a considerable competitive advantage to a conventional Louvre roof  and it could be added to buildings at any stage.

Façade as another proposal for CPV integration

Vertical facade light harvesting  (winter solution)

Facade light-harvesting has a considerable advantage in winter times compared to conventional solar thermal solutions on rooftops. The fact is that in cold winter days with a sun which travels in an inclined plane in the sky, the amount of energy absorbed by the thermal collector surfaces is hardly more than the loss of the heat due to very low temperature of surrounding ambient. with concentration of sunlight we change this balance and make it possible for the thermal collectors to receive more energy than what they lose by radiation and air convection.

CPV modules as colorful multifunctional glass facade Façade deployment

CPV modules as colorful multifunctional glass facade

Façade deployment

Rooftop deployment

Optical art: 

Optical art makes an attractive solution out of linear CPV facade.

Sustainable solutions doesn’t necessarily require to compromise the aesthetics of the buildings,

Not anymore. 

Invisible Photovoltaic panel: 

In contrary of current black PV panels which in many cases doesn’t match with the design and gestalt of the buildings, Linear lightfarm delivers a versatile, integrated and user defined selection of DESIGN.

This project is successor of High concentrated solar facade project  : In linear project however I have tried to simplify as much as possible and  to adapt the concept for easier integration. here is a video of the previous project:

Light-farm prototype(Hcpv Version)
 & me with a  Fresnel Magnifier