A study on the optical separation of highly concentrated solar radiation using hot mirror

Highly concentrated solar radiation obtained from a solar concentrator mounted on a solar tracker can be divided into infrared and visible regions before its actual applications. That is, solar rays are separated into infrared and visible regions as they are reflected off the first and second reflectors and channelled into an optical unit called a “hot mirror.” The infrared rays could be applied for thermoacoustic applications, while visible rays may be utilized for indoor lighting. This work introduces the separation of two different sources of light; sunlight and artificial light. As for the artificial light, its wavelength extended from 400 ㎚ to 720 ㎚ in the visible region and 620 ㎚ to 940 ㎚ in the infrared region. A series of tests revealed that the hot mirror used in this work was capable of separating solar radiation whose wavelength extended from 460 ㎚ to 680 ㎚ in the visible region. For the artificial light, its wavelength ranged from 620 ㎚ to 940 ㎚.