AIAA-2000-2826 EFFECT OF FLAT REFLECTORS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES

Dr. A. Md. Aziz-ul Huq* Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department Bangladesh University of Ehgineering and Technology Dhaka 1O00, Bangladesh Mohammad Irteza Howin Post Graduate Student, KTH Stockholm, Sweden

Muhammad Mustaflzur Rahman Associate Professor, Deparlment of Mechanical Engineering University of South Florida Tampa, Florida 33620. U.S.A.

ABSTRACT
To convert solar energy directly into electrical energy, photovoltaic modules are widely W i g used, Different techniques such as retrofitting of reflectors and concentrators are adopted to increase the amount of radiation flux falling on the module and the output of the module thereby increases. The present work investigates the effect of flat reflecting materials such as flat mirrors, shinny aluminum, and white tiles on the performance of a PV module. The pexfonnance was compared with an identical module without reflector; both studied under the same environmental conditions. It was found that the performance depends on the sky condition and has no advantage on a rainy or cloudy day. The reflector fitted module output based on Maximum Power Point showed a significant increase, and there was also an increase in temperature of the module.
NOMENCLATURE
b
C

P r V

Power 0 Reflector width (m) Voltage (V) Angle

INTRODUCTION
In many remote and isolated areas far from the grid line and in many island areas, a photovoltaic system is a very promising option. High initial installation costs of a complete PV system in many cases becomes a deterrent for such options, overriding the advantages. In addition to this, there are two major handicaps of a PV system. Solar energy is very much seasonal and energy is not available at night. An electrical storage system like a battery is required to maintain power supply during such periods when solar energy is not available or not enough to meet the demand. Moreover, solar energy flux is dilute and rarely exceeds lkW/m2. The use of some form of reflector o r concentrator will increase the intensity of solar radiation flux falling on the PV module. As cell output is also dependent on cell temperature, this intensified flux will increase the output depending on the cell temperature. Any form of retrofit involves cost, and all these analyses enter into the final choice of options. A numbex of studies, such as those by Stacey and McCormick, Nann2, Peters and Karlsson3, Gordon4 have been done to study the effect of concentrators on the performance of PV modules. Mills et a l . performed a relative

Fr-c I

PV module length (m) PV module width (m) View Eactor from reflector to collector Current (A)

* Corresponding Author Copyright 0 2000 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

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comparison of certain truncated symmetrical and asymmetrical fixed reflector designs for solar collectors. Bollentin and Wilk6 presented an analytical model to determine solar irradiation on flat collectors augmented with planar reflectors. Kumar et al.' analytically studied the general case of a collector with four reflectors. An alternative to glass mirrors coated with an aluminum or silver reflecting material is a silvered polymer reflector developed by Schissel et a18. The silver acrylic film has rhe advantages of being low cost and lightweight. ?he focus of these studies was to investigate reflectors for large systems with potential commercial application. &queg studied the performance of a sFaall PV (40 watt peak) module using flat mirrors as reflectors and found that on typical days, module output increased around 11-13% with a module temperature rise of 2-10 "C. The present work extended this work and checked the effect of other reflecting materials such as flat shinny aluminum, flat tiles and also flat mirrors. All of these are spectral in nature. The findings were compared with an identical module having no reflector placed side by side so as to expose them to similar environmentalconditions.
EXPERIMENTAL SET -UP

and it is defined as how much of the reflector could be seen by the PV panel. The view factor between the module and the reflector varied throughout the season and also over the day, depending on the position of the sun in the sky. The theoretical value of the view factor for a particular day and for a particular setting was calculated using the following relation given by Duffie and Beckman". FR-pv = (c+r-s)/2r where ,

s =[ c 2 + r

- 2 c*r cosy 1"

Table 1 gives the angles subtended by the reflector with respect to the module. In determining these angles, the shading effect of different reflectors at different times of the day was considered. The angle between the module and the reflector is schematically shown in Fig. 2. This paper presents experimental results involving all four reflectors, and the performances were compared with respect to the maximum power point; the percentage increase was calculated by using the following relationship: Percentage increase of output = {@' reflector - W') "100
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The set-up was installed on the roof of a sixstory building on the campus of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (longitude 90.0"E and latitude 23.5" N ) . A structure was specially designed to mount the reflectors on all four sides of the PV module. The angle between each reflector and the PV module could be varied independently so as to change the shape factor. The experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 1. For the experiment, 40-watt TATA BP solar modules were used. During the experiment, solar radiation was measured, module temperature was measured by thermocouples, and wind speed and psychrometric data were recorded. Loads on the PV modules were controlled by rheostats, and corresponding volts and amperes were recorded by digital meters. The data was used for plotting the corresponding I-V and Power-Voltagecurves. Three types of reflecting materials were used during this experimental investigation. These were flat mirrors, shinny aluminum, and white tiles. All of these are spectral in nature. PV modules were placed facing south at the latitude angle, 23.5" N. 'Ihe view factor is an important parameter that gives the effect of reflectors on the PV panel,
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The tests were performed by putting reflectors on all sides of the PV module (i.e. top, bottom, left, and right). A number of tests were performed at different times of the day. For each test, the load current and voltage readings of the module fitted with the reflector and for the module without the reflector were recorded; then, the power output at each loading condition was calculated by multiplying the current and voltage readings. Analyses were done on the basis of maximum power point. Figure 3 shows the performance of mirrored reflectors in a clear sky environment. It can be noticed that the output power increased by 33 % at 1515 hrs. The output power dropped to nearly 10% at 1525 hours based on the maximum power point. The temperature of the panel fitted with four reflectors increased by 6-10 "C compared to the module without reflectors. For Shinny Aluminum reflectors, the output power increased by 30% (Fig. 4) at 15:40 hours; at other times, it was around 15% (based on maximum power point). The temperature rise with shinny aluminum sheet reflectors was around 7 "C more compared to the module without reflector.

For White Tile reflectors, the power from the PV module increased by 16.12 % (Fig. 5) and was around 8% on other days. The temperature of the PV module having White Tile reflectors was increased by 2-3 C compared to module without reflector. Figure 6 shows the effect of cloud cover on the performance of the two modules. There is practically no difference between the two outputs. During tests with mirrored reflectors or with tiles, a complete cloudy condition was not present, so similar results could not be obtained. Similar experiments were done with pairs of two reflectors and a single reflector. A l l showed some degree of augmentation compared to the module without any reflector depending on the time of the day and the sky condition.
CONCLUSIONS

Photovoltaic Modules, Solar Energy, Vol. 33, 1984, pp. 565-569.

2.

Nann, S., Potential for Tracking Photovoltaic Systems and V-Troughs in Moderate Climates, Solar Energy, Vol. 45, No. 6, 1990, pp. 385393.

3. Peters, B. and Karlsson, B., External Reflectors for Large Solar Collector Arrays, Simulation Model and Experimental Results, Solar Energy, Vol. 51, 1993, pp. 327-337. 4. Gordon, J., A 100-Sun Liner Photovoltaic Solar Concentrator Design from Inexpensive Commerd Components, Solar Energy, Vol. 57, NO.4, 1996, pp. 301-305.

From the above findings, it is clear that the use of reflectors augments energy gain per meter square of module area. The percentage gain is very much dependent on the sky conditions. The experiment was done for a limited period of time. A more extensive study is required with different reflecting materials, including the diffuse type (such as white paint) and under different sky conditions, to identify some inexpensive reflective materials that can be economically viable. The optimum angles of the reflectors with the module for different months in the year is needed to design systems for best performance.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

5. Mills, D.R., Monger, A., and Morrison, G.L., Comparison of Fixed Asymmetrical and Symmetrical Reflectors for Evacuated Tube Solar Receivers, Solar Energy, Vol. 53, 1994, pp. 91-104.
6. Bollentin, J.W. and Wilk, R.D., Modeling of Solar Irradiation on Flat Plate Collectors Augmented with Planar Reflectors, Solar Energy, Vol. 55, 1995, pp. 343-354. 7. Kumar, R., Kaushik, S.C., and Garg, H.P., Analytical Study of Collector Solar-Gain Enhancement by Multiple Reflectors, Energy, Vol. 20, 1995, pp. 511-522. 8. Schissel, P., Neidlinger, H., and Czanderna, A., Silvered Polymer Reflectors, SERvTp-2552670, Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden, Colorado, 1985. 9. Haque, M.J., Study of the Effect of Reflectors on the Performance of PV Module, M.S. Thesis, KTH,Sweden, 1998. 10. Duffie, J.A. and Beckman, W.A., Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, Second Edition, Wiley- Interscience, 1991.

Ihe authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Department of Energy Technology, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
REFERENCES
1. Stacey, R.W. and Mccormick, P.G., Effect of Concentration on the Performance of Flat Plate

Reflector TOP Bottom Two sides

Mirror y~ 133.5 128.5 152

Shinny reflector y~ 123.5 128.5 152

White tiles y~ 123.5 128.5 152

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the set-up

164

k-----+

Fig. 2 Angle between the module and the reflector

CV Curve

+-without

reflector

1.4 1.2 1 c ; 0.8 2 0.6 0 0.4 0.2 0 0 5 10 15

20

Volage, V
Amtaw insolation on the PV Panel is 504.5 W/m2

18 16 14 n 12 10

B a

8 6 4 2 0

10 voltage, v

15
i d a t i o n on the PV

20
is 504.5 W/m2

Hg. 3 I-V and P-Vcurve for modules without and with reflector (four m i r r o r reflectors, clear s k y ) , 3d August 1999, 15:15 hours
165

2
1.6 1.2

0.8
0.4 II
I

10 Voltage, V

15

20

Average insolationon the s d a r Panel is 662 w/m2

Power VS Voltage Curve

32
L "

24

Q)

3 16
8

10 Voltage, V

15

20

Average insolation on the PV panel is 662 w/m2

Fig. 4 I-V and P-V curve for modules without and with reflector (four shinny aluminum reflectors, white cloud and sun), 7'h September 1999,15:40 hours

1'66

I-V Curve

reflector (White Tiles) +without reflector

+with
1

1.6

- 1.2
a=

0 0.4

0 . 8

0 0

10

15

20

Voltage, V
Average insolation on the solar Panel is 556 W h 2

Power vs Voltage curve

+with

reflector

(White Tiles) +without reflector

20

n
L "

16

l a

12

0
0

10

15

20

Voltage, V
Average insolation on the solar Panel is 556 W/m2

Fig. 5 I-V and P-V curve for modules without and with reflector (four white tile reflectors, white cloud and sun), September 1999,1530 hours

167

I-V Curve

0.5

0.4
I

0.3
g! L
3

0.2 0 . 1
0 0

10 Voltage, V

15

20

Average insohtion on the PV Panel is 135.5 W/m2

Power vs Voltage Curve

+Fghymior..m) c

10

15

20

Voltage, v
Averaae insolation on the PV Panel is 135.5W/m2

Fig. 6 I-V and P-V curve for modules without and with reflector (four shinny aluminum reflectors, very cloudy day), MmAugust 1999,10:45 hours

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