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In this article, various design configurations of luminescent solar concentrator photovoltaic (LSC-PV) devices have been simulated using Monte Carlo raytracing. These LSC PV devices are composed of mono-crystalline silicon solar cells and cubical poly (methyl methacrylate) lightguides, each containing one of the following dyes: Lumogen F Red 305, Lumogen F Orange 240, Perylene Green, or Perylene-diimide di-tert-butylphenyl, which results in different device colors. In these devices, mono-crystalline silicon bifacial PV cell are placed in between the vertical edge(s) of neighboring cubical lightguides whereas monofacial PV cells are positioned at the bottom of a lightguide. Each device is made out of five cubical 10 × 10 × 10 mm 3 lightguides, meaning that the PV cells measure 10 × 10 mm 2 . The main research goal of this article is to evaluate the optical and electrical performance of five of such configured LSC-PV devices. Hence, the spectral distribution of irradiance received by the edges and bottom of the devices has been simulated as well as the optical efficiency of these surfaces and the power conversion efficiency of each device. The theoretical results for power conversion efficiency are in the range of 13.3% to 18% under irradiance of 1000 W/m 2 and depend on the dyes applied. Hence, this article demonstrates the potential for energy generation by these colorful LSC-PV technologies, which we have called Mosaic devices.

A comprehensive understanding of failure modes of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules is key to extending their operational lifetime in the field. In this review, first, specific failure modes associated with mature PV technologies, such as crystalline silicon (c-Si), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and cadmium telluride (CdTe), are framed by sources of specific failure modes, their development from the early-developmental stages onwards and their impact upon long term performance of PV modules. These failure modes are sorted by both PV technology and location of occurrence in PV modules, such as substrate, encapsulant, front and rear electrode, absorber and interlayers. The second part of the review is focused on emerging PV technologies, such as perovskites solar cells, dye sensitised and organic PVs, where due to their low to medium technology readiness levels, specific long-term degradation mechanisms have not fully emerged, and most mechanisms are only partially understood. However, an in-depth summary of the known stability challenges associated with each emerging PV technology is presented. Finally, in this paper, lessons learned from mature PV technologies are reviewed, and considerations are given in to how these might be applied to the further development of emerging technologies. Namely, any emerging PV technology must eventually pass industry-standard qualification tests, while warranties for the lifetime of modern c-Si-based modules might be extended beyond the existing warranted life of 25 years.

A comparative life cycle assessment between plastic PV modules and conventional crystalline silicon glass-sheet based PV modules, shows environmental benefits for plastic PV modules. Plastic PV modules are produced by encapsulating crystalline silicon cells in polymeric materials. Using GaBi software, several LCA models were developed. When considering PV module's production location, GHG emissions for China were 2 times higher than Europe. With China as the production location, the GHG emissions for conventional and plastic PV modules during the production phases were 46 and 45 gCO2eq/kWh respectively. During the disposal phase, carbon dioxide emissions were 57% lower for plastic PV modules.

Designing with photovoltaics (PV) is the core focus of this paper which presents the results of a design study on conceptual PV applications for electric mobility systems. This is a relevant direction for new product development because PV technology can contribute to improved features of electric mobility systems not just in terms of CO2 emissions reduction but also regarding product aesthetics and user experiences. Design studies are multidisciplinary by nature; therefore, in this case technical, user, regulatory and aesthetic aspects are covered. Eleven conceptual designs were developed in 2019 by means of a design project executed at the University of Twente, encompassing solutions for PV-powered charging of electric vehicles, vehicle-integrated PV products and other applications. The concepts focus on various modes of transport beyond passenger cars such as public transportation, electric bicycles and utility vehicles, in some cases applying alternative charging technologies such as battery swapping and induction charging in their design. In this paper four of these conceptual designs are presented as case studies, showing their multidisciplinary focus as well as parts of the design process behind their development. An evaluation of these conceptual designs revealed several design challenges that need to be addressed in their development, including the limited space available for integrating PV cells, the technical limitations posed by some of the proposed charging methods and the effective visual communication of the concept's intended function.

This study assesses the feasibility of photovoltaic (PV) charging stations with local battery storage for electric vehicles (EVs) located in the United States and China using a simulation model that estimates the system's energy balance, yearly energy costs, and cumulative CO2 emissions in different scenarios based on the system's PV energy share, assuming silicon PV modules, and 5 kWh of storage capacity. Results show that systems located in commercial or office parking lots and used for charging EVs during working hours can be a feasible solution in all locations from a technical, financial, and environmental perspective in comparison with not only gasoline-fueled vehicles but also with grid-only charging. PV shares of 50% and 75% are achievable in all locations with PV array sizes in the order of 1-1.5 kWp, whereas a 100% PV share is possible but might result in high system costs. Scenarios with PV charging and local storage show emissions reductions of 60%-93% in the USA and 28%-93% in China compared with a gasoline-fueled vehicle.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming an increasingly attractive option to effectively and economically efficiently reduce global fossil fuel consumption as well as CO2 emissions associated with road transportation. In general, the grid provides the electricity required to charge an EV's battery. However, it could be worthwhile to consider EV charging by specific solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to further facilitate the use of renewable energy and to minimize CO2 emissions. Additional benefits could, for instance, be less overloaded local grids and additional grid flexibility. Because little information and experiences exist with so-called solar PV-powered EVs, this paper explores how well PV systems—with the possible combination of battery energy storage systems (BESSs)—might contribute to charging of EVs in four different countries, namely, The Netherlands, Norway, Brazil, and Australia. To this end, a model has been developed that calculates the interactions between PV-BESS systems, EVs, and the grid in each country to determine the electricity balance, financial consequences, and avoided CO2 emissions of PV-powered EVs, compared with EVs that are solely charged by the grid, as well as conventional passenger cars with an internal combustion engine (ICE-V). It is logically found that in countries with a high irradiation, the whole year through, such as Brazil and Australia, solar PV-powered EVs can be operated more effectively than in countries with a high variability of irradiation over the year such as The Netherlands and Norway. If the charging system's PV share is increased from 0% to 50%, the number of required grid charging events per year can be reduced from 104 to 34 in The Netherlands and from 123 to 55 in Norway. PV charging can also reduce CO2 emissions of EVs by 18% to 93% as compared with ICE-Vs depending on the location. From a financial perspective, PV-powered EVs are not yet financially feasible in all countries; however, in some nations, 100% PV charging is already a viable option. In general, it can be concluded that in contrast to driving an ICE-V, the further PV-powered EVs are driven, the more affordable they become—they might even generate financial revenues—and hence, the higher their positive environmental impact will be. On the basis of this study, it can therefore be concluded that solar PV-powered EVs are a technically feasible and increasingly financially attractive option for transport sector emission reductions in most countries when compared with regular grid charging of EVs and certainly as compared with ICE-Vs.

This article presents an initial performance analysis of a database of photovoltaic (PV) system performance time series collected within the European funded COST Action PEARL PV. The database contains monitoring data of over 8400 PV systems with accompanying metadata. The PV plants are small residential systems, primarily installed in Europe, with a high density in Belgium. In this initial study, the annual average performance ratio, the annual energy yield, and the performance loss rate of the systems are determined and evaluated. The systems have an average lifetime of 30.5 months. The annual mean performance ratio across all systems is 76.7% and the average yield is 954.9 kWh/kWp per year. The performance loss rate is calculated using three different statistical approaches and one irradiance data source. Average performance losses between $-$ 0.74%/year and $-$ 0.86%/year are calculated depending on the used approach. Furthermore, certain weather-dependent correlations are detected, such as decreasing performance ratio and increasing yield values with increasing irradiation. This study is a stepping-stone for further populating the present database, lessons learnt for handling large amounts of PV performance data, and carrying out performance studies of PV system fleets installed across Europe.

In 2018, a survey was conducted among 102 citizens in Suriname to evaluate their perception of photovoltaic (PV) systems. Nearly 75% of the respondents were aware of the possibility of generating electricity with PV systems and their related benefits, while, 25% of the respondents lacked knowledge about PV systems. Close to 65% of the respondents are not willing to install residential PV systems because of the high investment costs and the relatively low electricity tariffs by the national grid. For sustainability and economic savings, 26% of the respondents are willing to install a PV system. It could be concluded that despite of awareness of PV systems, their perceived high initial cost and locally low electricity prices are barriers to a broad dissemination of PV systems in Suriname.

This work presents a review of life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies of hydrogen electrolysis using power from photovoltaic (PV) systems. The paper discusses the assumptions, strengths and weaknesses of 13 LCA studies and identifies the causes of the environmental impact. Differences in assumptions of system boundaries, system sizes, evaluation methods, and functional units make it challenging to directly compare the Global Warming Potential (GWP) resulting from different studies. To simplify this process, 13 selected LCA studies on PV-powered hydrogen production have been harmonized following a consistent framework described by this paper. The harmonized GWP values vary from 0.7 to 6.6 kg CO2-eq/kg H2 which can be considered a wide range. The maximum absolute difference between the original and harmonized GWP results of a study is 1.5 kg CO2-eq/kg H2. Yet even the highest GWP of this study is over four times lower than the GWP of grid-powered electrolysis in Germany. Due to the lack of transparency of most LCAs included in this review, full identification of the sources of discrepancies (methods applied, assumed production conditions) is not possible. Overall it can be concluded that the environmental impact of the electrolytic hydrogen production process is mainly caused by the GWP of the electricity supply. For future environmental impact studies on hydrogen production systems, it is highly recommended to 1) divide the whole system into well-defined subsystems using compression as the final stage of the LCA and 2) to provide energy inputs/GWP results for the different subsystems.

Increasing integration of renewable energy sources, like solar photovoltaic (PV), necessitates the development of power forecasting tools to predict power fluctuations caused by weather. With trustworthy and accurate solar power forecasting models, grid operators could easily determine when other dispatchable sources of backup power may be needed to account for fluctuations in PV power plants. Additionally, PV customers and designers would feel secure knowing how much energy to expect from their PV systems on an hourly, daily, monthly, or yearly basis. The PROGNOSIS project, based at the Cyprus University of Technology, is developing a tool for intra-hour solar irradiance forecasting. This article presents the design, training, and testing of a single-layer long-short-term-memory (LSTM) artificial neural network for intra-hour power forecasting of a single PV system in Cyprus. Four years of PV data were used for training and testing the model (80% for training and 20% for testing). With a normalized root mean squared error (nRMSE) of 10.7%, the single-layer network performed similarly to a more complex 5-layer LSTM network trained and tested using the same data. Overall, these results suggest that simple LSTM networks can be just as effective as more complicated ones.

Photovoltaic (PV) monitoring and fault detection are very crucial to enhance the service life and reliability of PV systems. It is difficult to detect and classify the faults at the Direct Current (DC) side of PV arrays by common protection devices, especially Line-to-Line (LL) faults, because such faults are not detectable under high impedance fault and low mismatch conditions. If these faults are not diagnosed, they may significantly reduce the output power of PV systems and even cause fire catastrophe. Recently, many efforts have been devoted to detecting and classifying LL faults. However, these methods could not efficiently detect and classify the LL faults under high impedance and low mismatch. This paper proposes a novel fault diagnostic scheme in accordance with the two main stages. First, the key features are extracted via analyzing Current&ndash, Voltage (I&ndash, V) characteristics under various LL fault events and normal operation. Second, a genetic algorithm (GA) is used for parameter optimization of the kernel functions used in the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier and feature selection in order to obtain higher performance in diagnosing the faults in PV systems. In contrast to previous studies, this method requires only a small dataset for the learning process and it has a higher accuracy in detecting and classifying the LL fault events under high impedance and low mismatch levels. The simulation results verify the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method in detecting and classifying of LL faults in PV arrays even under complex conditions. The proposed method detects and classifies the LL faults under any condition with an average accuracy of 96% and 97.5%, respectively.

In Indonesia, the solar photovoltaic (PV) market is rapidly growing. However, studies on the outdoor performance of PV systems in this tropical rainforest country is lacking. In this work, we compare the performance of PV systems in Indonesia with PV systems in Australia (arid, desert, hot) and Italy (temperate, dry summer, hot summer). Monitoring data from 2008 to 2019, ranging from two to nine years, from fifteen PV systems of six technologies were analyzed. The performance of the PV systems was presented using their performance ratio (PR) and performance loss rate (PLR). PR was calculated using IEC standard 61724, and PLR was calculated using seasonal and trend decomposition, applying locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (STL decomposition) and the year-on-year approach from NREL/RdTools. The results showed that the CIGS (copper indium gallium selenide) system had the highest average PR value of 0.88 &plusmn, 0.04. The lowest average PR was found in the a-Si (amorphous silicon) PV systems (0.78 &plusmn, 0.05). The p-Si (polycrystalline silicon) systems in the Cfb (temperate, no dry season, warm summer) climate of Italy had a higher average PR of 0.84 than those operated in climates BWh (arid, desert, hot) of Australia and Af (tropical, rainforest) of Indonesia, with the same value of 0.81. The p-Si systems showed the lowest PLR, with a value of &minus, 0.6%/year. The fastest degradation was experienced by a-Si modules at &minus, 1.58%/year. The methodological differences in the calculation of PLR using both tested approaches resulted in a significant difference in the degradation value, which demands standardization of the term and calculation methodology.

Over the last two decades, grid-connected solar photovoltaic systems have increased from a niche market to one of the leading power generation capacity additions annually. In 2019 the total worldwide installed photovoltaic electricity generation capacity exceeded 630 GW. It is forecasted that 1 TW will be reached by 2022. This further development is coupled with the question at what prices solar photovoltaic electricity can be provided and delivered to the customers. The installation of PV systems for self-consumption is already now an interesting option for many people but in general limited to those who have access to a rooftop they own or can use. Enabling residents of multi apartment buildings to commonly use electricity generated by a PV system (collective self-consumption) is a relatively new development and is still facing a lot of administrative and regulatory challenges. This paper provides an overview of existing regulatory schemes in IEA PVPS countries and presents and analysis of two self-consumption case studies.

This paper presents the results of a conceptual design study regarding photovoltaic applications in electric mobility systems while considering technical, user, regulatory and aesthetic aspects. A total of eleven different design projects were developed, mostly encompassing innovative applications for EV charging infrastructure, vehicle-integrated PV systems, or a combination of both. Four of these conceptual designs are presented and evaluated in detail in this paper, showing the potential advantages that PV technology could bring to electric mobility systems not just in terms of CO2 emissions reduction but also regarding product aesthetics and user experience.

A functional prototype of a luminescent solar concentrator photovoltaic (LSC PV) module, called Leaf Roof, aims at demonstrating the design features of LSC PV technologies such as coloring, transparency, and flexibility in physical shape. In this paper, the prototype is presented and the first measurements of its performance are shown. The geometrical gain of this new type of PV module is 3.6. For two types of Leaf Roof modules, I- V curves have been measured resulting in efficiencies of 5.8% for a red-colored PV module, and 5.5% for a green-colored PV module under similar conditions. These results demonstrate colorful, robust solar energy collectors which can be produced in a wide variety of shapes are viable, attractive devices for use in building integrated systems. Additionally, thanks to the use of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as a cell encapsulant, the Leaf Roof modules are less susceptible to energy losses at elevated temperatures due to high irradiance and high ambient temperature conditions.

In this chapter, we will present the potential of grid-connected and off-grid PV systems in Indonesia based on data from 2018.

In this chapter, we will present the awareness of the households about renewable energy and climate change and their attitudes toward solar photovoltaics.

This chapter will introduce the energy situation in Indonesia as well as the main factors that influence it. Being one of the world’s largest archipelagos, Indonesia has a unique and highly distributed power supply system. The population size is the main factor which causes a significant demand for energy. The growing economy of Indonesia brings optimism, including on the subject of renewable energy development.

In this chapter, we will present the status of the energy and electricity supply and demand in Indonesia, challenges in providing electricity to the whole population, power supply systems and businesses, and the status of renewable implementation.

This chapter explores the reliability of electricity supply in Indonesia.

This paper reports on the execution and results of an interdisciplinary design project using advanced luminescent solar concentrator PV (LSC PV) technologies in new contexts of use such as the built environment, mobility and consumer products. In the past years LSC PV technologies have been rapidly maturing showing increasing efficiencies up to 10% with high expectations regarding further improvements at low costs. In this context in 2019 a summer school of one week took place aiming at optimally combining design features of LSC PV devices and further enhancements of their performance by scientific research. This design-driven project resulted in several interesting new LSC PV applications which are presented in this paper.

COST Action entitled PEARL PV aims at analyzing data of monitored PV systems installed all over Europe to quantitatively evaluate the long-term performance and reliability of these PV systems. For this purpose, a data bank is being implemented that can contain vast amounts of data, which will enable systematic performance analyses in combination with simulations. This paper presents the development process of this data bank.

Smart energy products and services (SEPS) have a key role in the development of smart grids, and testing methods such as co-simulation and scenario-based simulations can be useful tools for evaluating the potential of new SEPS concepts during their early development stages. Three innovative conceptual designs for home energy management products (HEMPs)&mdash, a specific category of SEPS&mdash, were successfully tested using a simulation environment, validating their operation using simulated production and load profiles. For comparison with reality, end user tests were carried out on two of the HEMP concepts and showed mixed results for achieving more efficient energy use, with one of the concepts reducing energy consumption by 27% and the other increasing it by 25%. The scenario-based simulations provided additional insights on the performance of these products, matching some of the general trends observed during end user tests but failing to sufficiently approximate the observed results. Overall, the presented testing methods successfully evaluated the performance of HEMPs under various use conditions and identified bottlenecks, which could be improved in future designs. It is recommended that in addition to HEMPs, these tests are repeated with different SEPS and energy systems to enhance the robustness of the methods.

This paper analyzes the use patterns of a residential smart grid pilot in the Netherlands, called PowerMatching City. The analysis is based on detailed monitoring data measured at 5-min intervals for the year 2012, originating from this pilot which was realized in 2007 in Groningen, Netherlands. In this pilot, smart appliances, heat pumps, micro-combined heat and power (&micro, CHP), and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have been installed to evaluate their efficiency, their ability to reduce peak electricity purchase, and their effects on self-sufficiency and on the local use of solar electricity. As a result of the evaluation, diverse yearly and weekly indicators have been determined, such as electricity purchase and delivery, solar production, flexible generation, and load. Depending on the household configuration, up to 40% of self-sufficiency is achieved on an annual average basis, and 14.4% of the total consumption were flexible. In general, we can conclude that micro-CHP contributed to keep purchase from the grid relatively constant throughout the seasons. Adding to that, smart appliances significantly contributed to load shifting in peak times. It is recommended that similar evaluations will be conducted in other smart grid pilots to statistically enhance insights in the functioning of residential smart grids.

This article presents an in-situ comparative analysis and power quality tests of a newly developed photovoltaic charging system for e-bikes. The various control methods of the inverter are modeled and a single-phase grid-connected inverter is tested under different conditions. Models are constituted for two current control methods, the proportional resonance and the synchronous rotating frames. In order to determine the influence of the control parameters, the system is analyzed analytically in the time domain as well as in the frequency domain by simulation. The tests indicated the resonance instability of the photovoltaic inverter. The passivity impedance-based stability criterion is applied in order to analyze the phenomenon of resonance instability. In conclusion, the phase-locked loop (PLL) bandwidth and control parameters of the current loop have a major effect on the output admittance of the inverter, which should be adjusted to make the system stable.

Electric bicycles (e-bikes) are considered a sustainable alternative to automobile transportation today. The electric bike includes all the benefits that conventional bicycles offer, plus faster, more comfortable and longer trips, as well as less effort for the user. In this paper, we specifically focus on a new type of e-bike, the so-called ‘solar-powered e-bike’. Therefore, this review paper explores existing literature findings for the use of solar energy in transportation, and more specifically in e-bikes. This paper aims to capture the status of and experiences with the use of e-bikes; more specifically, with solar-powered e-bikes. It presents research conducted so far on e-bikes and solar-powered e-bikes, as well as the main technical features of the solar e-bike. Finally, it analyzes a sample of e-bikes’ and solar-powered e-bikes’ users, based on Dutch National Travel Survey data and an experimental field study conducted in 2017. Data showed that the main target group of (solar) e-bikes are commuters in the age group between 40 and 60 years old, commuting distances longer than 6 km, with a gross income higher than €2500. Solar-powered e-bikes are concluded to have potential as a sustainable way of transportation in urban areas and cities, potentially replacing the conventional means of transport.

This paper presents insights and perceptions of stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of residential smart grid pilot projects in the Netherlands, adding to the limited information that is currently available in this area, while expectations about the potential benefits of smart grids are high. The main research questions of this study are: (1) How have some typical residential smart grid pilots in the Netherlands been set up? (2) Which stakeholders are involved in these pilots in the year 2014? (3) What are their views and perceptions with regards to the development and performance of residential smart grids? and (4) What do these stakeholders think about the products and services that may support an active participation of end-users in a smart energy home? To obtain information, we evaluated five residential smart grid pilot projects where smart energy products and services have been implemented. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine stakeholders involved in these projects. The Strategic Niche management framework was used to identify the present state of development and implementation of smart grid pilots. Our study shows that in the Netherlands residential smart grid pilots have been set-up and funded mainly by the government and grid operators. Other stakeholders involved include energy suppliers, end-users (as an energy cooperative or individual household), product and service suppliers, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies, and knowledge institutes. Currently a technology-push approach exists which barely includes an integrated approach towards smart grids products and services development. To the opinion of the interviewed stakeholders, current products and services offered in residential smart grid pilots are functionally attractive, but often too technically complex for the understanding of end-users. Hence, the general view held by respondents is that end-users should be the starting point in the development of smart grid products and services at the residential areas.

This paper focuses on the reliability of electricity supply at three different locations in Indonesia, namely in Sumatra, Timor, and Papua, through a comparison of reported indices of power reliability (SAIFI and SAIDI) and experimental results from user surveys and power measurements. The reason for this study is the lack of information about the actual, quantified reliability of power supplied by the main grid in Indonesia, while narratives of end-users indicate the reliability might be unsatisfactory. The study was executed using data from 114 randomly-selected respondents in the city of Pekanbaru in Sumatra, 65 in the city of Kupang in Timor and 26 in the city of Jayapura in Papua, totaling 205 respondents. These users experienced a higher unavailability of power delivered by the grid than expressed by the utility-reported SAIDI and SAIFI. Therefore, for this study, new indices are introduced, namely the Perceived (P) SAIDI and SAIFI, which are based on the frequency and duration of blackouts experienced by the users. It is concluded that the reported reliability indices do not always demonstrate the experience of the grid users. P-SAIFIs were 1.3 to 4.6 times higher in Pekanbaru and Kupang, respectively than the utility-reported SAIFIs for the same provinces. Also, P-SAIDIs were 2.6 to 3.9 times higher in Pekanbaru and Kupang, respectively, than the utilities’ SAIDIs. It is therefore not surprising that depending on the location, 14% to 65% of the users own a backup generator and that households are willing to pay $3 to $8 extra per monthly electricity bill or $1c–$3c per kWh for improved reliability.

In this paper, a framework is presented for the evaluation of smart grid environment which is called the three-layer model. This three-layer model comprises three specific categories, or ‘layers’, namely, the stakeholder, market and technologies layers. Each layer is defined and explored herein, using an extensive literature study regarding their key elements, their descriptions and an overview of the findings from the literature. The assumption behind this study is that a solid understanding of each of the three layers and their interrelations will help in more effective assessment of residential smart grid pilots in order to better design products and services and deploy smart grid technologies in networks. Based on our review, we conclude that, in many studies, social factors associated with smart grid pilots, such as markets, social acceptance, and end-user and stakeholder demands, are most commonly defined as uncertainties and are therefore considered separately from the technical aspects of smart grids. As such, it is recommended that, in future assessments, the stakeholder and market layers should be combined with the technologies layer so as to enhance interaction between these three layers, and to be able to better evaluate residential smart energy systems in a multidisciplinary context.

Short-term power output forecasting of photovoltaic (PV) systems has become increasingly important to balance the supply and demand of grid electricity in an efficient manner. It is well known that the operating temperature has a strong influence on the power output of photovoltaic devices; therefore, improvements in simulating the short-term PV module temperature add to the accuracy of PV power output forecasting. In this study, a new empirical model is proposed, which is suitable for transient weather conditions. This model uses four variables to predict the temperature of PV modules, namely ambient temperature, irradiance, wind speed, and relative humidity. The model is applied and evaluated for various silicon-based PV technologies at two Southeast Asian locations (Singapore and Jayapura) on a 1-min basis. Results show root-mean-squared errors (RMSE) of 1.5–3.2 K, which marks an average improvement in RMSE of 46%, compared with similar existing empirical models.

This paper shows the results of a design study on possible applications for Luminescent Solar Concentrator PV technologies. The study focused on product integration of LSC PV technologies and was executed by students of Industrial Design Engineering at University of Twente (NL). In total 16 different and highly innovative conceptual designs resulted from this project, which were prototyped at scale to show their feasibility and integration features. In this paper we present several concepts, and discuss relevant findings for the integration of LSC PV technologies in future products and buildings. It is shown that the typical material properties of LSCs; low cost, colorful, bendable, and transparent do not only offer a lot of design freedom, but also offer excellent possibilities to incorporate this technology into the overall function and experience of applications.

In this study, a novel configuration for luminescent solar concentrator photovoltaic (LSC PV) devices is presented, with vertically placed bifacial PV solar cells made of mono-crystalline silicon (mono c-Si). This LSC PV device comprises multiple rectangular cuboid lightguides, made of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), containing Lumogen dyes, in particular, either Lumogen red 305 or orange 240. The bifacial solar cells are located in between these lightguide cubes and can, therefore, receive irradiance at both of their surfaces. The main aim of this study is to theoretically determine the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of five differently configured LSC PV devices. For this purpose, Monte Carlo ray tracing simulations were executed to analyze the irradiance at receiving PV cell surfaces, as well as the optical performance of these LSC PV devices. Five different LSC PV devices, with different geometries and varying dye concentrations, were modeled. To maximize the device efficiency, the bifacial cells were also attached to the back side of the lightguides. The ray tracing simulations resulted in a maximum efficiency of 16.9% under standard test conditions (STC) for a 15 &times, 15 cm2 LSC PV device, consisting of nine rectangular cuboid 5 &times, 5 &times, 1 cm3 PMMA lightguides with 5 ppm orange 240 dye, with 12 vertically positioned 5 &times, 1 cm2 bifacial cells in between the lightguides and nine 5 &times, 5 cm2 PV cells attached to the back of the device. If the cells are not applied to the back of this LSC PV device configuration, the maximum PCE will be 2.9% (under STC), where the LSC PV device consists of 25 cubical 1 &times, 1 &times, 1 cm3 PMMA lightguides with 110 ppm red 305 dye and 40 vertically oriented bifacial PV cells of 1 &times, 1 cm2 in between the lightguides. These results show the vast future potential for LSC PV technologies, with a higher performance and efficiency than the common threshold PCE for LSC PV devices of 10%.

The continuous growth of our fossil fuel demand for energy consumption and the related increase in CO2 emissions [...]

A PV powered inflatable tent has been developed using flexible PV modules which have been integrated in the tent's roof leading to a light-weight and easily usable product. This this paper presents energy balance studies, the modular reinforced flexible PV system design and other design features of this product-integrated PV application. The nominal power of the PV powered tent is at present 544 Wp (at η=8%). It contains a battery of 300 Ah, which is sufficient for power supply to basic functions such as the use of mobile phones and light.

This paper evaluates the environmental effects of low power PV lighting products, which are increasingly used in rural areas in South East Asia, by means of a life cycle analysis (LCA). The main goals of the project are to determine (1) the environmental impacts, (2) which parts are contributing to environmental impacts that occur, and (3) the accuracy of an LCA of these PV products. The study is based on an entrepreneurial case in Cambodia. Three PV lighting products with a nominal power of 0.7 Wp, 4.5 Wp and 40 Wp respectively, have been compared with three alternatives for lighting services. The LCA was executed with Simapro software using the Ecoinvent 2.1 database and applying the ReCiPe 2008 method for the impact assessment. An important conclusion of the study is that solar PV lighting products have less environmental impact than conventional lighting solutions, such as lighting services from kerosene lamps and compact fluorescent lamps powered by car batteries. The environmental profile of small size PV lighting products can be improved by approximately 50% by recycling of the batteries. From an evaluation of the accuracy of an LCA of PV lighting products, it can be concluded that impacts of these PV lighting products are lower or comparable to those of lighting by compact fluorescent lights powered by electricity from the grid in the South East Asian context. As such, they offer an environmentally beneficial lighting service for off-grid households.

The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the energy sector and the current status of photovoltaic (PV) systems in Suriname and to investigate which role PV systems can play in this country’s future energy transition. At this moment, 64% of the power is available from diesel/heavy fuel oil (HFO) gensets while 36% is available from renewables namely hydroelectric power systems and PV systems. Suriname has renewable energy (RE) targets for 2017 and 2022 which already have been achieved by this 36%. However, the RE target of 2027 of 47% must be achieved yet. As there is abundant irradiance available, on an average 1792 kWh/m2/year and because several PV systems have already been successfully implemented, PV can play an important role in the energy transition of Suriname. In order to achieve the 2027 target with only PV systems, an additional 110 MWp of installed PV capacity will be required. Governmental and non-governmental institutes have planned PV projects. If these will be executed in the future than annually 0.8 TWh electricity will be produced by PV systems. In order to meet the electricity demand of 2027 fully, 2.2 TWh PV electricity will be required which implies that more PV systems must be implemented in Suriname besides the already scheduled ones.

In this paper an experimental research is presented on a new use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in concrete floors, in which thermal energy provided by the sun is stored in a mix of concrete and PCMs. When this thermal energy is being released – in moderate sea climates during the evening and early night – it is aimed to reduce the need for thermal energy of conventional heating in houses. The temperatures of four concrete floors in closed environments were monitored to reflect on the influence of PCMs and type of insulation in relation to ambient temperatures and solar irradiation. The application of PCMs in concrete floors resulted in a reduction of maximum floor temperatures up to 16 ± 2% and an increase of minimum temperatures up to 7 ± 3%. The results show the relevance of an integral design in which the thermal resistance of the building shell, the sensible heat capacity of the building and the latent heat capacity of the PCMs are considered simultaneously.

The energy consumption in the existing residential building stock accounts for about 40% of the total energy consumption in the built environment. Different types of energy performance indicators to assess the energy consumption of buildings were and still are internationally under development. In this paper we compare the methodologies and accuracies of three Dutch energy performance indicators by applying them to eight houses. This application shows that the actual domestic energy use is linearly correlated with the estimated energy consumption given by the energy performance indicators, but 7-25% lower. Based on the energy performance indicators and actual energy use, we offer a methodology to incorporate additional revenues within the financial analysis of energy saving techniques. These revenues are related to the value of the dwelling in which the techniques are installed. We use the same houses to analyse the financial returns on energy saving investments. By assigning the value increase of real estate to two popular specific energy saving techniques, namely wall and roof insulation, it is found that the payback period could be 40-50% shorter than when it is solely based on investment costs and energy prices. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We describe an innovative method to simulate the energy yield of photovoltaic (PV) cells under complex, three dimensional (3D) irradiation conditions by exploiting Computer Aided Design (CAD) software functionality. This can significantly facilitate PV energy yield simulations, because CAD software offers powerful ray-tracing and rendering features of 3D objects and sceneries. The concept is demonstrated by simulating the charge yields of a Product-Integrated PV (PIPV) solar cell located in an indoor environment. To this end, indoor CAD sceneries are ray-traced to render grey-scale or red-green-blue (RGB) encoded images. PV power output is then determined by translating the CAD-rendered images back into numerical data of irradiation, distributed on a 2D PV surface having a pre-defined cell-interconnection scheme. Although the concept is a very promising one, further software development and research is required to increase computational performance at high accuracy levels whilst facilitating software use.