Improving Solar Energy Utilization Through Innovative Dome-Based Concentration

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sona College of Technology, Salem 636005, Tamil Nadu, India
² Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore 641021, Tamil Nadu, India
³ Department of MBA, Panimalar Engineering College, Chennai 600123, Tamil Nadu, India
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nandha Engineering College, Perundurai 638052, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nandha College of Technology, Perundurai 638052, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁶ Department of Chemical Engineering, Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai 602105, Tamil Nadu, India

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

The proliferation and enhancement of economies and societies are directly related to the availability of energy. Solar power is an alternate source of energy that can be used to create electricity. Solar photovoltaic panels (PV) have low efficiency and output power, and they require a tracking system to be installed in large areas. A unique solar dome system is the focus of this study. In comparison to conventional solar panels, this concentrated photovoltaic technology outperforms them in terms of efficiency and output power, and it does not even require a tracking system or a large amount of installation area. The acrylic solar dome is filled with culinary oil for this design, which concentrates the solar radiation on a central spot. A concentrator solar cell, which is a multi-junction cell that collects light, is used to alter the focal point. Concentrated solar energy has the potential to create far more electricity than traditional photovoltaic panels because of its enormous power output. The experiments were conducted to find the optimal dome shape for acrylic models, the optimal oil media to use inside the dome, the optimal size and volume of the dome, the optimal thickness of the dome, the optimal type of fluid oil, culinary oil, and the optimal amount of fluid inside the dome, the total volume. Following this, the aforementioned aspects are contrasted with conventional photovoltaics (PV) having a section area identical to these forms. According to the findings, these variables considerably impact the efficiency and power value of the final product.

Experimental results show that compared to a standard PV system with the same cross-sectional area, our novel concentrated solar dome system generates roughly four times as much power, or electricity. Crucial evidence that less room is needed to set up this system compared to installing traditional solar panels comes from this form of compression. Space requirements for installation will be cut by 45-65% due to the system’s performance-per-square-area comparison with the latest generation of commercially available flat panel PV. Not only does our technology not necessitate a tracking system or maintenance. The fact that our technology is unaffected by high or low humidity, clouds, dust, or temperature is another one of its many advantages.