A new design for luminescent solar concentrating PV roof tiles

Abstract

In our paper we explore the opportunity of combining luminescent solar concentrating (LSC) materials and crystalline PV solar cells in a new design for a roof tile by design-driven research on the energy performance of various configurations of the LSC PV device and on the aesthetic appeal in a roof construction. We present the roof tile in a system and executed optical modeling of the solar roof tile by Monte-Carlo/ray-tracing simulations by PV trace. We determined the range of appropriate values for thickness and dye concentration for the conceptual design of roof tile LSCs. It can be concluded that thickness of PMMA sheet material could best be in the range of 4 to 6 mm and the concentration of BASF Lumogen Red dye in between 80 and 1000 ppm. Because of aesthetic considerations however various concentration values may be used. In follow-up activities include a.o. parameter studies for different BASF Lumogen dyes and a pilot setup for testing the prototypes outdoors in the Netherlands.