Modeling and Simulation of Silicon Solar Cells under Low Concentration Conditions

Abstract

Today’s research on concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) cells focuses on creating multi-junction semiconductor solar cells capable of withstanding high temperatures without losing their properties. This paper investigated silicon low concentrated photovoltaic (LCPV) devices using Fresnel lenses. The parameters of the silicon CPV cell were measured to simulate its operation based on a single-diode model with four and five parameters. The most optimal position of the Fresnel lens relative to the solar cell was shown, and the dependence of the CPV efficiency on the concentration ratio, incident solar power, and temperature was studied. Experiments on heating of a solar cell were conducted to build a model of heating of a solar cell under different solar radiation based on machine learning. Additionally, a cooling system was developed, and experiments were conducted for one LCPV cell. The resulting LCPV model was used to predict electrical power output and temperature change pattern using clear day data. Results of modeling show increase in generated energy by 27% compared with non-concentrated solar cells. Cooling system energy consumption was simulated, and the optimum cooling regime was determined. The proposed LCPV system can be used as a hybrid heat and electricity source, increase power generation, and does not require new solar cell production technologies.