Performance evaluation of solar photovoltaic systems

Flat plane and concentrating photovoltaic systems are the two major technologies for sunlight direct conversion into electricity. This work compares the energy generation potential of concentrating and non-concentrating PV systems under a summer clear sky day of the Tunisian Saharan city Tozeur. A fixed PV panel directly exposed to the solar irradiance is firstly studied. An asymmetric compound parabolic concentrator was then designed and used to focus the solar irradiance on this PV panel, which collects so the reflected sunlight. The electrical performance of these systems is experimentally characterized, and results indicate that the concentrating PV system performs better regarding the system output and electrical efficiency. Similarly, a financial analysis is performed and justify our solar installation choice. Two 3D CFD models describing the performance of these solar systems are then developed and experimental data are used for these models validation. Based on the good agreement between the numerical and experimental results, the performance of these two systems is evaluated of a cloudy day, the effect of the weather conditions is so discussed and the optimum design is evaluated.