Temperature regulation of concentrating photovoltaic window using argon gas and polymer dispersed liquid crystal films

Khalid, Maria; Shanks, Katie; Ghosh, Aritra; Tahir, Asif; Sundaram, Senthilarasu; Mallick, Tapas Kumar

Abstract

Low concentrating photovoltaic (LCPV) system has been studied extensively, which showed excellent potential for the building integration application. However, such a system suffers from higher operating temperatures due to the concentrated light exposed into the solar cell. In this work, two different methods have been used to regulate the operating temperature of the solar cell without the interference of any other external mechanism. Two concepts were used to study the operating temperature of the solar cells are: i) use of Argon gas within the concentrator element, ii) incorporation of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal films (PDLC) on top of the module. In both cases, the power was improved by 37 mW–47 mW when temperature was reduced by 10 °C and 4 °C for the Argon gas-filled module and PDLC integrated module, respectively. In addition, the temperature effect of the PDLC integrated module showed a unique nature of reduction of the short circuit current due to the orientation of the liquid crystal particle, which increased at a higher temperature. The current study, therefore, shows the greater potential of improving the operating efficiency and reduction of solar cell temperature, without the need for additional pumping power such as needed for photovoltaic thermal application.

Citation

Khalid, M., Shanks, K., Ghosh, A., Tahir, A., Sundaram, S., & Mallick, T. K. (2021). Temperature regulation of concentrating photovoltaic window using argon gas and polymer dispersed liquid crystal films. Renewable Energy, 164, 96-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.09.069

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 14, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Sep 18, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021-02
• Deposit Date: Mar 13, 2023
• Journal: Renewable Energy
• Print ISSN: 0960-1481
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 164
• Pages: 96-108
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.09.069
• Keywords: Square elliptical hyperboloid concentrator, BIPV, Electrical and thermal characterisation, Polymer dispersed liquid crystal