Light-emitting solar light-gathering reinforcing plate achieved through light gathering and funnel-type reflection

Abstract

The present invention relates to the development of a luminescent solar concentrator reinforcement panel that captures and concentrates the maximum percentage of solar energy using specific methods. The solution is a luminescent solar panel (without translucent characteristics) capable of absorbing all incident energy without scattering on the opposite side. The light-emitting solar concentrator reinforcement panel is used in cooperation with sunlight, is composed of transparent materials, specifically distributed composite pigments (including diffusion and reflection elements), and is provided with a middle layer reflecting sunlight, photovoltaic strips arranged on the side edges of the transparent part, and a reflection base. Sunlight incident on the panel diffuses through the pigment and is trapped in the lower area through reflection between the funnel-shaped area and the middle layer and the reflection base at the bottom of the panel. The trapped light is kept concentrated and transmitted to the photovoltaic element through reflection. The invention is innovative in that it can create a luminescent solar concentrator reinforcement panel (LSC) that absorbs most of the incident energy and reduces energy loss. This application is very effective in that it can be used as a coating for opaque surfaces (non-glass surfaces) for the generation of green energy. Through the synergistic effect of all the components, the result can be achieved without expensive materials or equipment, and the method can be immediately put into industrial application.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention is used for applications related to green energy production in urban, commercial and industrial buildings. The invention is intended as an energy-generating coating that can be applied to all vertical and horizontal surfaces of a building. Background Art

[0002] Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) arise from the need to exploit solar energy in a way that is different from standard photovoltaic panels, with the goal of reducing overall costs by optimizing the utilization of the photovoltaic cells, the most expensive part of the system. The principle used is to concentrate the light radiation to the side areas of the panel, which is different from the effect achieved by large concentrated solar concentrators using optical waveguide effects. In the standard configuration, these luminescent concentrators consist of glass plates doped with fluorescent dye molecules. The dye absorbs a specific wavelength of the incident sunlight and re-emits the light in all directions at longer wavelengths. Some of this light is emitted at a critical angle inside the optical waveguide support, which is then totally internally reflected and transmitted to the photovoltaic modules at the sides. However, the efficiency of these luminescent concentrators is currently low due to high reabsorption of the emitted light, low efficiency of light coupling into the optical waveguide, and general difficulties in capturing the light inside the optical waveguide.

[0003] At present, luminescent solar concentrator panels generally have efficiency problems caused by factors such as reabsorption and light scattering. In addition, in applications where luminescent concentrators are used to replace glass walls, due to the requirement for them to be translucent, a large amount of light incident on one wall will be transmitted to the opposite wall, thereby reducing the effective energy that can be collected. These concentrators are usually composed of a matrix coated with a luminescent material. Once the incident sunlight reaches the material, it is converted into a luminescent process and then made available to the photovoltaic module. The reabsorption of the converted light accounts for a significant proportion of the energy loss, and the transmission ratio between the incident light intensity and the light intensity received by the photovoltaic module is limited by this reabsorption effect. Existing luminescent concentrators not only have reabsorption in the luminescent material, but also light scattering in the transparent material. Therefore, existing luminescent solar panels are inherently insufficient in energy utilization. Summary of the invention

[0004] The proposed solution is to create a luminescent solar concentrator enhancement panel that absorbs all incident energy without scattering light to the opposite wall (i.e., non-translucent) through the funnel concentration effect and simultaneous total reflection of energy within the concentration area. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 : A general side view of a luminescent solar concentrator enhancement panel, indicating the main components of the present invention: the luminescent solar concentrating portion, the diffusing and reflecting composite pigments, the upper reflective surface, the lower reflective base and the photovoltaic cells.

[0006] Figure 2 : A more detailed side view of the luminescent solar concentrator enhancement panel, indicating the transparent portion, the diffuser layer, the reflective pigment portion for focusing light, the upper reflective surface, the lower reflective base, and the solar cells for generating electricity.

[0007] Figure 3 : A top view of the panel showing the luminous solar concentrators and photovoltaic cells located around the panel.

[0008] Key Graphical Symbols and References

[0009] 1. Transparent luminous solar panels

[0010] 2. Composite pigments for energy diffusion and aggregation

[0011] 2a. Diffusion and luminous layer

[0012] 2b. Non-uniform reflective layer for energy concentration

[0013] 3. The upper reflective layer of the panel

[0014] 4. Photovoltaic surfaces for energy absorption

[0015] 5. Photovoltaic surfaces for energy absorption

[0016] 6. Photovoltaic surfaces for energy absorption

[0017] 7. Photovoltaic surfaces for energy absorption

[0018] 8. Lower reflective base of the panel DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] An object of the present invention is to provide a luminescent concentrator for use in a photovoltaic system by maximizing the utilization of solar energy by reducing reabsorption and scattering losses in the luminescent concentrator.

[0020] The present invention solves these problems through its intended application as a coating for opaque surfaces, thereby eliminating the need for translucent properties.

[0021] The luminescent concentrator converts sunlight through a composite pigment that acts both as a diffusion filter in the direction of sunlight incidence and as a reflective element in the direction of energy concentration.

[0022] The light diffused by the pigment is then concentrated to the area below by reflection between the pigment and the reflective base.

[0023] According to the present invention, there is provided an enhanced luminescence concentrator for use with sunlight.

[0024] The luminescent concentrator includes a diffusion and reflective "filter", an energy collection area and a reflective base. The diffusion filter is designed to allow the passage and collection of sunlight through reflection between the upper reflective layer and the reflective surface of the base (see Figure 2 ).

[0025] The diffusing and reflecting filter consists of a diffusing layer with a luminescent substance and, in a specific embodiment, a reflecting area (see Figure 2 ). In particular, the reflective properties can be achieved by using metal particles (such as silver and aluminum) and / or diffuse reflective substances (such as BaSO4 or TiO2).

[0026] This diffuse and reflective "filter" allows the incident sunlight to pass through. After the light passes through the luminous layer, it is not reflected back, but is concentrated by the "filter" reflective elements arranged in a specific way and the reflective base of the panel (see Figure 1 and Figure 2 ).

[0027] The energy focusing region can be made of any material that does not significantly affect the light that propagates through the focusing region. Therefore, the energy focusing region does not contain light absorbing materials. In other words, the energy focusing region is basically composed of transparent materials or partially voids to avoid negative effects caused by absorbing part of the light in the focusing region (see Figure 1 and Figure 2 ).

[0028] By using a non-light absorbing material, energy losses in the concentration zone are minimized. In addition, both the upper and lower layers have reflective properties, so that the luminescent concentrator advantageously increases the overall efficiency of the connected photovoltaic cell / photovoltaic device in this area.

[0029] The top surface uses a diffusion / luminescent material. The luminescent material is suitable for emitting light after absorbing sufficient light energy or other radiation. The luminescent material contains a plurality of luminescent dye molecules. In a specific embodiment, the material is directly deposited and further reduced by the use of underlying geometric structures and reflective materials, while concentrating the converted light in a collection area (see Figure 2 ).

[0030] The reflective structure is used to reflect incident sunlight. Specifically, the reflective structure reflects most of the incident light. In a specific embodiment, the panel uses several materials (see Figure 2 ). The reflective portion can be a structure made of metal particles or layers (such as aluminum or silver), or a diffuse substance (such as BaSO4 or TiO2). The reflective area can be coated with a metal coating or a diffuse substance to provide reflectivity.

[0031] A reflective surface is used at the bottom of the panel to avoid energy scattering, taking into account specific applications.

[0032] The deposition of various substances can be carried out in a deposition chamber, such as a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) chamber, or using sputtering techniques. This deposition method is advantageous because it allows for precise control of the composition and density of the deposited material, resulting in high quality and well-defined properties with respect to incident sunlight.

[0033] In a particular embodiment, the luminescent concentrator comprises a photovoltaic device connected to the energy concentration region. The photovoltaic device can be an interconnected assembly of modules or photovoltaic cells, or even a single photovoltaic / solar cell. Photovoltaic cells are used to convert the sun's light energy (photons) into electrical energy through the "photovoltaic effect". Different types of solar cells can be used, such as cells made of crystalline silicon or amorphous silicon wafers or thin films, or cells based on perovskites.

[0034] By connecting a solar concentrator to a photovoltaic device, the concentrated incident sunlight discussed above is directed to the photovoltaic device for conversion into electricity. The arrangement of the reflective portion makes the incident angle of the light more perpendicular to the photovoltaic surface (see Figure 2 ). By concentrating the incident light and making the incident angle perpendicular, the utilization of the photovoltaic system is optimized, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the system.

[0035] In certain embodiments, the connection between the luminescent concentrator and the photovoltaic device is an optical connection, avoiding the use of materials that may reduce efficiency.

[0036] According to the present invention, a method for concentrating and converting solar energy into electrical energy is provided. The method comprises the steps of allowing incident sunlight to pass through a diffuse and reflective "filter", concentrating the light through an energy concentration zone between two reflective zones, within a predetermined area between the filter and the underlying surface.

[0037] In certain embodiments, the concentrated light is directed to a photovoltaic device for conversion into electrical energy.

[0038] In summary, luminescent concentrators and related methods provide a way to efficiently concentrate sunlight onto photovoltaic devices, reducing energy losses and increasing the overall efficiency of solar energy conversion.

[0039] The present invention is innovative compared to the prior art and can realize a luminescent solar concentrator enhanced panel (LSC) that can absorb all incident energy and has no translucent properties while maximizing electrical energy output.

[0040] The application is particularly useful as a coating for opaque "unglazed" surfaces in buildings for the generation of green energy.

[0041] This result can be achieved without relying on expensive materials and equipment, thanks to the synergistic effect of each component. Therefore, the invention has the conditions for direct industrial application.

Claims

1. The present invention is a luminous solar concentrator panel (see FIG. 1 ) for solar lighting, and its components are as follows: a transparent layer of the panel; a composite pigment in the transparent layer, including: The diffuser / luminescent layer at the top, the reflective zone in the middle with a "funnel" geometry to direct light to the focusing zone below, the intermittent reflective layer at the bottom to prevent the return energy from escaping, the photovoltaic cells installed at the edge of the transparent layer; and the fully reflective layer at the bottom of the panel.

2. The luminescent solar concentrator panel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first front surface of the panel (see FIG. 1 ) is a transparent material and directly receives sunlight.

3. According to claim 1, the bottom of the panel consists of a surface capable of reflecting all incident solar radiation, and the reflective layer is designed in a specific embodiment to increase the reflection angle of the incident radiation (see Figures 1 and 2).

4. According to claims 1 and 2, the portion of the luminous solar panel close to the sunlit surface is doped with composite pigments, and in a specific embodiment, the upper portion is composed of diffusing and luminescent materials, which have the property of filtering specific wavelengths of light.

5. According to claims 1 and 4, the composite pigment in the middle area has a specific funnel-shaped multi-distribution geometry with reflective capability to direct diffuse light to a smaller lower area, thereby concentrating the light in the lower area of ​​the panel (see FIG. 2 ).

6. According to claims 1, 3, 4 and 5, the lower part of the composite pigment consists of a discontinuous reflective layer: a pigment area is provided at the small "funnel" opening of the middle layer, where the light is concentrated; in this way, the returning light cannot be scattered and is reflected by the discontinuous reflective layer below.

7. As described in claims 1, 3 and 6, sunlight transmitted to the lower part of the panel is reflected between the bottom of the panel and the lower layer of the composite pigment, and thus remains within the focusing area of ​​the panel (see Figures 1 and 2).

8. According to claims 1 and 7, thanks to the reflection between the lower layer of the composite pigment and the reflective base, the light is concentrated in the lower part of the transparent material and transferred to the edge by reflection, where photovoltaic cells are arranged to convert sunlight into electrical energy (see Figures 1 and 3).

9. As described in claims 1, 3 and 4, if infrared energy is not filtered by the panel surface and is absorbed by the bottom of the panel, this helps reduce the "urban heat island effect".

10. According to claims 1, 4, 8 and 9, the luminous solar panel reflects and directs sunlight to the photovoltaic cells on the side, and its function is: · Absorbs most of the light and limits scattering to a minimum; · Reducing the "urban heat island effect"; · Generate electricity.

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