Performance evaluation of photovoltaic panel integrated with compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) installed in hot arid area

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 non-concentrating 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).