A general optimization strategy for the annual performance enhancement of a solar concentrating system incorporated in the south-facing wall of a building

Abstract

A solar concentrating system incorporated to the south-facing wall could be a promising solution to alleviate the energy demand pressure in buildings. However, concentrating systems incorporated in south-facing walls would require wide acceptance range of concentrators with the purpose of static installation. In order to tackle this problem, this article proposes a novel unitary asymmetric concentrator structure for incorporating the concentrating system in the south-facing wall. A general optimization strategy for the annual performance enhancement of the concentrator is reported. Four kinds of concentrators were designed based on the proposed structure. The annual performance enhancement by this optimization strategy was analysed and compared through the ray-tracing simulation and experimental validation for four typical types of solar concentrators, i.e. Mirror Concentrator, Lens-Mirror Concentrator, Dielectric Concentrator and Air-Gap-Lens-Mirror Concentrator. The optical performance of these concentrators was studied and compared. Their application was analysed and validated through the analysis. The findings have illustrated the optical efficiency of the concentrators for concentrating the photovoltaics or photovoltaic-thermal system incorporated to the south-facing wall either by attachment or embedded into a building structure like a window. These concentrators can be engineered as the main component as a part of the design for a building.