Cooling systems for linear concentrating photovoltaic (LCPV) system

Abstract A linear concentrator is used to increase the incident solar radiation on a photovoltaic cell and consequently the electricity output. However, the energy conversion efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) cell decreases with an increase in the cell temperature cell for high solar radiation. This chapter covers specifically the linear concentrating photovoltaic (LCPV) system. In this chapter the application and mathematical model of LCPV systems are explained in brief. Moreover, as the efficiency of LCPV system depends on the temperature of PV cell, thus the LCPV requires a cooling system which is the main topic of this chapter. The mathematical model of the water loop system, two-phase loop system, and vapor compression refrigeration system are presented and discussed. Finally, the chapter concludes that the use of heat absorbed and not converted into electric energy by a PV cell can be very useful for water heating, therefore the system can be used as a hybrid system to generate electric power and hot water.