Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to a photovoltaic device, and more particularly, to a semi-transparent photovoltaic device that implements uniform light distribution behind the photovoltaic device, in addition to light conversion into electrical energy.
Conventional photovoltaic devices 100, as illustrated in
However, there is currently a movement about not only capturing the solar energy with these traditional photovoltaic cells and transforming it into electrical energy, but also allowing part of the incident light to pass through the photovoltaic device to illuminate a habitat that exists behind the cells. In this regard,
Due to the fact that the traditional photovoltaic device 100 is opaque to the light 220, various patterns of shades 240 are formed inside the structure 200. These patterns are not attractive for the inhabitants of the structure 200, and also may discourage visitors of these structures to return, which is undesirable especially if the structure is associated with a business that needs human traffic inside.
To address this problem, more recent photovoltaic devices have been designed to be semi-transparent photovoltaic panels that house the silicon solar cells 100. Such semi-transparent solar panels can be installed, for instance, in the building façade as part of a window structure. Semi-transparency as used here refers to photovoltaic devices with an optical transmission of about 10% to about 60% and excludes the common photovoltaic modules (solar panels) 100 as found on rooftops and in solar farms as those modules are not designed to transmit the incident light.
The semi-transparent solar devices need to have the front and back layers made of a transparent material. Because highly transparent materials are employed in the front and back of such solar modules, typically glass, the embedded opaque solar cells 100 still cast a shadow pattern consistent with the footprint of the solar cells in the solar module. Thus, the light distribution behind the solar devices inside the structure 100 is still inhomogeneous and the shadow pattern 240 still changes along the day, depending on the location of the sun. These effects of the changing patterns throughout the day inside the structure still have notable implications on the aesthetics of the interior design, the optical perception and comfort of the users of the building, the energy balance and interior temperature of the building and especially for light sensitive environments.
In this regard, the integration of the solar devices in the rooftop of the greenhouses is an example of such light sensitive environment. The solar cells will cast a shadow pattern onto the crops, which may introduce spatial variations in the growth of the produce. This could reduce the production and thus the revenue of a greenhouse farmer.
Thus, there is a need for a new solar module that is capable not only of capturing the solar energy and transforming it into electrical energy, but also for allowing part of the solar light to pass through the solar module and to be distributed inside the structure that holds the solar module with minimum shade patterns, i.e., to achieve a uniform light intensity distribution behind the solar module.
According to an embodiment, there is a photovoltaic module for transforming an incident light into electrical energy. The photovoltaic module includes plural solar cell configured to transform the incident light into the electrical energy, a first sheet that is transparent to the incident light, and a second sheet that is transparent to the incident light. The plural solar cells are sandwiched between the first sheet and the second sheet. At least one of the first and second sheets has a high transparency regarding the incident light and also a high scattering of the incident light.
According to another embodiment, there is a photovoltaic module for transforming an incident light into electrical energy, and the photovoltaic module includes plural solar cells configured to transform the incident light into the electrical energy, a first sheet that is transparent to the incident light, a second sheet that is transparent to the incident light, and an encapsulating material distributed between the first and second sheets to hold the first and second sheets together. The plural solar cells and the encapsulating material are sandwiched between the first sheet and the second sheet. At least one of the first and second sheets has a high transparency regarding the incident light and also a high scattering of the incident light.
According to yet another embodiment, there is a method for generating substantially uniform light intensity behind a solar module. The method includes selecting a first sheet having a high light transmittance, providing an encapsulating material over the first sheet, embedding plural solar cells into the encapsulating material, selecting a second sheet having a high light transmittance and a high light scattering, and placing the second sheet over the embedded plural solar cells and the encapsulating material so that the first sheet, the encapsulating material, the plural cells and the second sheet form the solar module. Incident light on the first sheet scatters after passing the second sheet so that the passing light does not produce minima and maxima of light intensities.
The above embodiments may be combined with one or more of the following features for achieving superior light management and power conversion efficiency: A) the first sheet is coated with an anti-reflection coating to minimize the reflection of the incident light and maximize the light capturing for increasing the solar cell generated current, B) a layer for matching the refractive index is embedded between the first sheet and the encapsulant with the aim of trapping the light in the module for increasing the solar cell generated current, and C) a back reflector is applied between the encapsulating material and the second sheet or in the back of the second sheet. The back reflector is either uniformly applied or striped to minimize the shading pattern cast below the modules while increasing the solar cell generated current.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The following description of the embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements. The following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. The following embodiments are discussed, for simplicity, with regard to a solar module that provides a more uniform light intensity distribution behind the solar module when the solar module is provided in a greenhouse. However, the embodiments to be discussed next are not limited to a solar module being provided in a greenhouse, but they are applicable to any structure to which or in which the solar module is used.
Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the subject matter disclosed. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
According to an embodiment, a solar module is made to be lightweight (e.g., up to 1-2 kg/m2), semitransparent (total light transmission of 10% to 70%), and to be including a combination of highly transparent front and back sheets that allow controllable light transmission while simultaneously scattering the light behind the module, i.e., with a diffuse (scattered) light transmission larger than 10% and up to 60% across a wavelength range of 300-1200 nm, after passing through the solar module. In practice this means that the embedded solar cells, which are arranged in a given pattern, although being opaque, will cast a uniform shadow behind the solar module while blocking the sunlight. This solar module eliminates the problems mentioned above in the Background section. In particular, when considering greenhouse farming, a uniform light distribution will ensure uniform crop growth and yield across the area behind the solar module.
Conventionally, a semi-transparent photovoltaic module 300 with optical transmission larger than 10% is manufactured, as shown in
However, the new photovoltaic module 400 illustrated in
The inventors have compared the light observed behind a photovoltaic device, due to the scattering introduced by the solar module 400, and due to the transmission through a conventional shade screen, and measured this light when arriving at a light sensor placed behind the standard screen and the scattering solar module 400 as a function of daytime.
To achieve the almost uniform distribution of the light intensity (see
More specifically, as shown in
To utilize the maximum incident light to the novel solar panel 400, an anti-reflection coating can be added to the front sheet in order to minimize the light reflection from the light source facing side. The additional captured light can then be utilized to generate extra solar cell current and/or light transmission to the observation point behind the solar panel. Another method to utilize the incident light for maximum solar cell current generation is to maximize the light trapping inside the solar panel by matching the refractive index of the different layers of the front sheet and the back sheet to increase the path length of light inside the solar panel 400.
The solar cells 100 may be placed in an encapsulating material 630. The encapsulating material 630 may be a material that promotes the lamination of the solar cells 100 between the first and second sheets 610 and 620, i.e., may include a material that permanently attaches to the first and second sheets 610 and 620. In one embodiment, the encapsulating material 630 is provided to fully encapsulate the solar cells 100. In this embodiment or another embodiment, the encapsulating material 630 fully extends between the first and second sheets 610 and 620, so that there is no direct contact between the first and second sheets. In one embodiment, the encapsulating material may be any resin, ionoplastic or even an organic material (e.g., polymer) like ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyvinyl butyral (PVB) or polyolefin elastomer (POE). The encapsulating material and the first and second sheets may be made of flexible materials so that a space between the solar cells 100 can be bended up to 180 degrees and thus it can be rolled. In one embodiment, the first sheet 610 is made of a first material and the second sheet is made of a second material, different from the first material. However, as discussed later, the first and second layers may be made of the same material. In the embodiment illustrated in
The selection of the material for the first and second sheets 610 and 620 is made based on two characteristics of the material: (1) the light transmittance, which characterizes how much of the incident light is allowed to pass through the material, and (2) the light scattering, which characterizes how much of the incident light is diffused, i.e., it is deviated from its original incident direction. In the following, a highly transmissive material is considered any material that allows at least 85% of the incident light to pass through the material, for a given thickness of the material. Any material that transmits light in the range of 85 to 30% is considered to be just a “transmissive material” and a material that transmits less than 30% of the incident light is considered to be poorly transmissive. Also, in the following, a highly scattering material is considered to be any material that randomly changes the direction of the incoming light rays of more than 40% or even more than 50% of the incoming light, i.e., a diffusion of 40% or 50%. A low scattering material is considered to be any material that has a diffusion of less than 5% of the incoming light. A scattering material is considered to be a material that changes the direction of the incident light for about 5 to 50% of the incident light rays.
For the embodiment illustrated in
In another embodiment, as illustrated in
In yet another embodiment illustrated in
In this respect,
In one configuration that was used for measuring the data illustrated in
As discussed above, any of the front and back laminating sheets and/or the encapsulant material may incorporate light scattering features. These light scattering elements can be achieved by structuring the surface of the respective sheet or material at the nanometer scale, e.g., surface roughening. In one application, as illustrated in
A highly reflective (e.g., white) sheet 1012 may be added between the encapsulant material 630 and the back sheet 620, as shown in the implementation 1010 of
Any of the above embodiments may be combined with one or more of the following features (illustrated in
The opaque solar cells 100 described above may be any solar cell based on a wafer, e.g., crystalline silicon or multi-crystalline or amorphous silicon solar cells, and also any solar cell that is deposited on a given substrate and it is opaque, and these solar cells are connected into strings using narrow Cu strips that provide the electrical connection from one cell to the next. The spacing between the cells 100 is used to control the reduction of the light intensity (shading level) provided by the module 400.
The components of the solar module 400 can be combined into a single unit by vacuum lamination using an encapsulant (such as EVA, POE or PVB) that embeds the cells 100 and provides the mechanical adhesion between the different components 610, 620, and 630. In this regard,
In one application, the module 600//700/800 has a weight smaller than 2 kg/m2 and a total light transmission between 10 and 70% and a light scattering (diffusion) between 10 and 60% due to the light materials used by the first and second sheets and the encapsulating material.
A method for generating substantially uniform light intensity behind a solar module 600 includes a step 1200 of selecting a first sheet 610 having a high light transmittance, a step 1202 of providing an encapsulating material 630 over the first sheet 610, a step 1204 of embedding plural solar cells 100 into the encapsulating material 630, a step of selecting 1206 a second sheet 620 having a high light transmittance and a high light scattering, and a step 1208 of placing the second sheet 620 over the embedded plural solar cells 100 and the encapsulating material 630 so that the first sheet, the encapsulating material, the plural cells and the second sheet form the solar module 600, shown in
The disclosed embodiments provide a photovoltaic module that allows part of the light to pass through it and also manipulates the direction of the light so that almost uniform light intensity distribution is obtained after the light has passed through the module. It should be understood that this description is not intended to limit the invention. On the contrary, the embodiments are intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which are included in the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Further, in the detailed description of the embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the claimed invention. However, one skilled in the art would understand that various embodiments may be practiced without such specific details.
Although the features and elements of the present embodiments are described in the embodiments in particular combinations, each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements of the embodiments or in various combinations with or without other features and elements disclosed herein.
This written description uses examples of the subject matter disclosed to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the same, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/122,154, filed on Dec. 7, 2020, entitled “LIGHT DIFFUSING PHOTOVOLTAIC SCREEN FOR UNIFORM LIGHT DISTRIBUTION,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2021/061186 | 12/1/2021 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63122154 | Dec 2020 | US |