Edinburgh Napier University

  Saudi Arabia receives an average insolation of 6 kWh/m2/day, making it one of the most likely candidates for a country to be using solar energy for meeting its energy needs in the near future. The energy from the sun can be directly converted into electricity by the use of photovoltaic (PV) technology. A key barrier to achieving economic viability and the widespread adoption of PV is losses related to high operating temperature. The application of an active cooling might increase the cost of the system. However, employing a concentrating element alone would cooling would subside the extra cost and benefit in terms of the overall energy extraction. A low concentrating photovoltaic (PV/T) system with a compound parabolic concentrator as the optical element can be a promising choice for enhancing the power output from conventional PV panels with the simultaneous generation of thermal energy. In the present study a system with this concept is proposed and its optical performance is analyzed. Detailed analysis is performed using ray-tracing technique to identify the important parameters affecting the overall performance and design of this system. Results of the ray-trace analysis show a maximum optical efficiency of 80% with an acceptance angle (2α) of 60°, an optical efficiencyof 56 % was found under diffuse radiation conditions. Comparing the performance of this system with a flat plate or a CPV indicates an increase of about 44 % in the electrical output.