Module integrated solar position sensing device for concentration photovoltaic devices
AssigneeRicard Pardell Vilella
InventorRicard Pardell Vilella
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Abstract
The present invention refers to a sensing device for sensing the alignment with respect to the sun of a concentration photovoltaic CPV device of the type which comprises at least one principal optical element POE and a CPV receiver, a CPV system, or module, comprising a CPV receiver and an integrated sensing device, and an optimized method for aligning a concentration photovoltaic CPV system with respect to the sun.
Claims15
A sensing device for sensing the alignment with respect to the sun of a concentration photovoltaic CPV device comprising at least one principal optical element POE and a CPV receiver, the sensing device comprising at least one photovoltaic section comprising a hole, and wherein the at least one section is placed between the POE and the CPV receiver such that substantially all the sunlight passes through the hole and impinges the CPV receiver once the CPV device is perfectly aligned with respect to the sun.
A method for aligning a concentration photovoltaic CPV system with respect to the sun, the method comprising:
- determining an astronomical sun position;
- moving the CPV system to an initial position;
- and
- continuously correcting the alignment of the CPV system by:
- determining a current CPV system position by measuring the direct normal irradiance, DNI, on each of a plurality of cells of at least one photovoltaic section of an integrated sensing device;
- and
- modifying a current tracking speed of the CPV system based on the determination.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.