Low Concentrating Photovoltaic Geometry for Retrofitting Onto European Building Stock

Abstract

The most appropriate low concentrating photovoltaic (LCPV) technology suitable for European buildings located in mid-high latitudes under both maritime and continental climatic conditions has been identified as the asymmetric compound parabolic concentrator (ACPC). To date, there is no published experimental data at different latitudes on the long-term performance of these systems at these latitudes nor how location would modify the optical characteristics of deployed systems. Previous theoretical research by the authors has demonstrated the superiority of the ACPC with this additional work experimentally confirming the robustness of the design. To investigate how seasonal and locational variations affect their measured technical performance two identical ACPC-LCPVs were installed, instrumented, and monitored at two different climatic locations (Uxbridge, UK, and Vevey, Switzerland) from May 2020 to September 2020. A valid comparative performance investigation characterizing two geometrically equivalent ACPC-based LCPV systems using real-life experimental data collected is presented in this paper. Locations at higher latitudes experience greater transverse angles more frequently compared to locations nearer the equator making ACPC geometries more appropriate than symmetrical concentrator configurations for building retrofit. This is shown in this paper over a latitudinal expanse of 31.35 deg for four separate locations; Tessalit (20.19 deg N, 1.00 deg E; Mali), Timimoun (28.03 deg N, 1.65 deg E; Algeria), Uxbridge (51.54 deg N, 0.48 deg E, UK), and Vevey (46.6 deg N, 6.84 deg E, Switzerland).