Egypt is facing energy crisis despite of the development in every consumption sector. Hence, a search for the
efficient utilization of renewable energy, specially the solar energy is a must. The aim of the present work is
experimentally and numerically investigating the performance of the photovoltaic (PV) panel integrated with
truncated symmetric compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) in hot arid area. For the sake of the experimental
work, symmetric CPC with geometrical concentration ratio of (2.4X) has been designed, fabricated and tested.
Experiments have been conducted outdoors on the roof top of the Energy Resources Engineering (ERE) building
at Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST) in new Borg El-Arab city, Alexandria, Egypt
(Longitude/Latitude: E 029º 42´ / N 30º 55´). A detailed thermal/electrical analytical model was developed and
numerically solved using MATLAB software environment to calculate the thermal and electrical performance
parameters of the (PV-CPC) system. The Numerical results were in a good agreement with the experimental
results. Results showed that PV maximum power was enhanced by 18 % with CPC compared to the nonconcentrating
one. Although, the results indicate that concentration increases short circuit current (Isc) by 32%, it
decreases open circuit voltage (Voc) by 5%. Finally, the proposed (PV-CPC) system yielded promising results in
both increasing electrical power production with low cost and provide an advantage for building-integrated PV
systems. The study recommends using proper cooling system for further performance enhancement and
effective operation of the (PV-CPC). |
