Optical Simulation of PV Solar Concentrators by two Inverse Characterization Methods

The optical characterization of solar concentrators for photovoltaic applications is increasing its importance with the recent first commercialization of some CPV technologies. In this paper two effective characterization methodologies are presented, applied to a representative optics of concentration. Two “inverse” methods are compared: the firstly presented inverse illumination method and another approach, derived by the inverse luminescence method, operating with electroluminescent light. Both use ideal lambertian sources for producing the inverse light path and can be applied to any type of solar concentrator (photovoltaic or thermodynamic). The optical simulations show their equivalence to get the angular distribution of the transmission efficiency function, but the original inverse illumination method demonstrates a simpler configuration and permits a significantly faster simulation process.