Performance Analysis of a Multiple Chamber Trough Concentrating Photovoltaic/Thermal System

A multiple chamber trough solar collector and its working principle were presented. A 3D model of the corrector supported with optical analysis software was used to analyze the ray tracing of the flat-plate solar cell panel. The distribution of the concentrated light could be visualized. Based on the multiple chamber trough concentrator, a novel multiple chamber trough concentrating polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic/thermal system (TCPV/T) was proposed. The TCPV/T system could provide both the power and heat. Solar energy could be efficiently utilized with the combined cycle system and the output electrical power as well as electrical efficiency of the solar cell be enhanced. An experimental set combined heating and power devices driven by solar concentrating trough was constructed. Experiment results indicate that, under about 3 times of solar concentrating, the maximum output power produced by TCPV/T system is higher than that of flat-plate photovoltaic (PV) system and trough concentrating photovoltaic system by 96.4% and 64.2%, respectively. The synthetic energy-saving efficiency of TCPV/T system is 62.8%.