Floating type inflatable solar concentrating power generation device

Abstract

The invention relates to a floating type inflatable solar concentrating power generation device, and belongs to the technical field of solar lighting and power supply devices. The invention relates to a floating type inflatable solar concentrating power generation device, which can be used for concentrating light at a high proportion, simultaneously concentrating light beams and scattered light, realizing electricity and heat cogeneration, continuously providing alternating current in the daytime and providing illumination at night, and comprises a large concentrating fixed condenser consisting of an inflatable dome-shaped divergent Fresnel lens filled with helium or hydrogen and a non-imaging solar condenser, and a small concentrating fixed condenser consisting of an inflatable dome-shaped divergent Fresnel lens filled with helium or hydrogen and a non-imaging solar condenser, the wall surface of the transparent cylinder is covered with a display screen; at least one LED lamp or bulb; a solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver; at least one thermoelectric module; a thermal energy storage device; the battery pack is provided with a charger and a charging controller; and a micro inverter. Wherein the transparent cylinder surrounds the inflatable condenser, and the LED lamp or the bulb is located between the condenser and the transparent cylinder. The whole system floats in the air and does not occupy land.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to solar lighting and power supply devices, and more particularly, to a floating inflatable non-imaging non-tracking fixed concentrating solar lighting and power supply device with energy storage, micro-inverter and flexible display. BACKGROUND

[0002] Currently, most solar systems are installed on the ground, occupying valuable land resources on earth. With the exponential growth of the human population, it is impossible to meet the demand for energy by using solar energy on land alone. The conflict between land for power generation and land for other purposes poses a great challenge to solar research scientists and engineers. One solution is to float solar systems in the air without occupying land on earth. However, except for aircraft equipped with flat photovoltaic panels or thin-film solar cells, no one has seen a floating solar system in the air. The reason is that traditional solar systems are low in efficiency, high in cost, heavy in weight, and there is no good way to lift the solar system into the air.

[0003] Street lighting, garden lighting, lawn lighting or other outdoor lighting consumes a large amount of electricity, and at present most of these electricity comes from fossil fuels. In fact, these outdoor facilities that use electricity at night can become solar power generation devices during the day. Solar street lights are one of the successful examples of solar technology in the market. However, the widespread use of these systems in the field of power generation is still far from being realized. Most solar street lights use flat photovoltaic panels, and their lighting devices and photovoltaic systems are usually separate. This design pattern simply combines traditional lamps with photovoltaic panels for ease of manufacturing and installation, but it is not compact and is relatively high in cost. Traditional flat photovoltaic panels have limited conversion efficiency, and the photovoltaic system and the lamp occupy different areas of the support structure. In traditional solar street light systems, large and expensive semiconductor panels are directly used to collect low-density solar radiation, so the overall cost is necessarily high. In addition to battery energy storage, there is no other way to store energy based on traditional flat photovoltaic panels.

[0004] Compared to the extremely low energy density of solar radiation, any common, inexpensive materials, such as metals and glass, seem prohibitively expensive for achieving ultra-low-cost solar collectors. Therefore, new methods for collecting solar energy must be developed. Inflatable solar concentrators are one such method. US Patent 8,074,638 B2, by Eric Bryant Cummings (Cummings), discloses a method and apparatus for an inflatable solar concentrator balloon. Cummings discloses in the patent that the bottom of the balloon's thin film body forms a parabolic shape. This balloon uses only the thin film and reflective coating to concentrate light, relying on the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the balloon to form the parabolic geometry, thus holding great potential for producing ultra-low-cost solar collectors. However, a parabolic shape is an imaging concentrator, capable of focusing parallel sunlight, but not diffused sunlight. Imaging concentrators require precise geometry to focus parallel sunlight. It is difficult for an inflatable solar concentrator balloon to form and maintain the parabolic geometry. Furthermore, imaging concentrators require sophisticated solar trackers, which significantly increases system cost and complexity in order to focus a beam of light.

[0005] Unlike imaging concentrators, non-imaging inflatable solar concentrators can simultaneously concentrate both direct and diffused light. Non-imaging inflatable concentrators do not require precise geometry. They may also eliminate the need for trackers.

[0006] Compared to imaging-type inflatable solar concentrator balloons, the biggest drawback of non-imaging solar concentrator balloons is their low concentration ratio. The concentration ratio of a CPC (compound parabolic concentrator) is determined by the receiving half-angle θc. The larger the receiving half-angle θc, the smaller the concentration ratio of the CPC.

[0007]

[0008] A two-dimensional slotted CPC is formed by combining half of two parabolas, while a three-dimensional CPC is a rotated version of this combination. Equation 1-1 gives the output aperture using CPC. The formula for calculating the parabolic focal length f using the CPC receiving half-angle θc is given. Formula 1-2 gives the CPC output aperture diameter. The relationship between the CPC height h and the input aperture diameter a is given by Equation 1-3. Equations 1-4 and 1-5 give the calculation formulas for the two-dimensional and three-dimensional CPC concentration ratios, respectively.

[0009] For a larger θc, the concentration ratio is a smaller number. For example, when θc= 30°, the concentration ratio is 2 (John Duffie & William Beckman, Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, 4thEdition, pp 337-344, 2013). If the concentration ratio is only 10, then θcmust be as small as 6°. Ideally, for all-weather non-tracking concentration, the acceptance half-angle θcshould be at least 75°. In practical applications, the concentration ratio should reach hundreds or even higher. Therefore, a major challenge for a practical non-imaging concentrator is that it must have a small acceptance half-angle at a high concentration ratio, while also having a large acceptance half-angle when fixed concentration.

[0010] The present application aims to provide a design of a floating inflatable solar concentrator power generation device that can concentrate direct and diffuse light at a high multiple without tracking the sun, while generating electricity and providing heat, storing the generated electrical and thermal energy, and continuously supplying AC power during the day and providing lighting and display at night. SUMMARY

[0011] According to the present application, a floating inflatable solar concentrator power generation device comprises: 1) a large helium or hydrogen filled fixed concentrator composed of an inflatable dome-shaped diverging Fresnel lens and a non-imaging solar concentrator; 2) a transparent cylinder with a display screen covering its wall surface; 3) at least one LED lamp or bulb; 4) a solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver; 5) at least one thermoelectric module; 6) a thermal energy storage device; 7) a battery pack with a charger and a charge controller; and 8) a micro-inverter; wherein the transparent cylinder surrounds the large fixed concentrator composed of the inflatable dome-shaped diverging Fresnel lens and the non-imaging solar concentrator; the LED lamp or bulb is located in the space between the large fixed concentrator and the transparent cylinder; the solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver is placed below the output aperture of the large fixed concentrator composed of the floating inflatable dome-shaped diverging Fresnel lens and the non-imaging solar concentrator; the thermoelectric module is installed on the back of the solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver; the photovoltaic part of the solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver is electrically connected to the thermoelectric module; the thermoelectric module is thermally coupled to the thermal storage device; the thermoelectric module is electrically connected to the battery pack through the charger and the charge controller; the photovoltaic part of the solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver is electrically connected to the battery pack through the charger and the charge controller; and the micro-inverter is electrically connected to the battery pack. The LED lamp or bulb is electrically connected with the battery pack through the controller; wherein, during operation, the oblique sunlight in the daytime, including direct light and scattered light, is first refracted by the floating inflatable dome diverging Fresnel lens and the dome diverging Fresnel lens at the top of the large fixed concentrator composed of the non-imaging solar concentrator, and then concentrated by the parabolic trough concentrator at the bottom of the large fixed concentrator composed of the floating inflatable dome diverging Fresnel lens and the non-imaging solar concentrator to the solar thermal and photovoltaic hybrid receiver; the receiver simultaneously generates electric energy and heat energy; part of the generated electric energy is used to power the thermoelectric module; the other part is used to charge the battery pack; the generated heat energy is stored in the heat storage device after being warmed up by the thermoelectric module; the battery pack outputs alternating current through the micro-inverter; at night, the stored heat energy is extracted from the heat energy storage device to generate electricity and charge the battery pack; the battery pack is used to power the LED lamp or bulb.

[0012] The large fixed concentrator is composed of a flexible dome diverging Fresnel lens at the top and a CPC non-imaging solar concentrator at the bottom; wherein, the CPC is composed of a (transparent) sealed bag made of a flexible film with a reflective coating on the inner surface; the flexible dome diverging Fresnel lens is molded on the top of the CPC, or formed by adding a separate flexible dome diverging Fresnel lens on the transparent cover at the top of the CPC.

[0013] The beneficial effects of the present application are: The present application provides a floating inflatable concentrating solar lighting and power supply device, which can greatly improve the conversion efficiency, significantly reduce the system cost, and effectively eliminate the intermittency problem existing in the flat photovoltaic panel solar system. The present application provides the possibility of high-temperature heat and cogeneration to improve the overall conversion efficiency of the solar system, and the thermoelectric energy storage subsystem can store the high-temperature heat of the cogeneration. This configuration of the inflatable concentrating solar lighting and power supply device greatly reduces the semiconductor area required for collecting and converting solar radiation, thereby significantly reducing the cost of the system. The present application combines the concentrating solar power (CSP) system and the lighting system to form a spatial lighting system that generates electricity during the day and illuminates at night. Unlike the flat photovoltaic panel, which is only a component of the system, the device of the present application is a complete system that integrates energy storage, chargers and micro-inverters, and is a complete product that can be commercialized. The present application provides a non-imaging and non-tracking optical system that not only ensures the concentration of diffuse light and direct light, but also achieves high concentration ratio at a high receiving half-angle. The floating inflatable concentrating solar lighting and power supply unit is lifted in the air by filling the fixed concentrator composed of the inflatable dome-shaped diverging Fresnel lens and the non-imaging concentrator with gases such as helium and hydrogen, which are lighter than air. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1is a cross-sectional view of a floating inflatable solar concentrator power generation device, wherein a floating inflatable non-imaging non-tracking high-concentration solar concentrator filled with helium or hydrogen is surrounded by a transparent cylinder, the cylinder wall of which is covered with a flexible electronic display screen, and at least one LED lamp or bulb is placed in the space between the solar concentrator and the transparent cylinder.

[0015] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a floating inflatable solar concentrator power generation and power supply device.

[0016] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a non-imaging non-tracking solar concentrator, wherein the bottom of the concentrator is a three-dimensional CPC (confocal parabolic trough concentrator) and the top is a flexible dome-shaped diverging Fresnel lens.

[0017] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of a non-imaging solar concentrator, which can not only concentrate direct light but also diffuse light.

[0018] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of a non-imaging non-tracking solar concentrator, which can concentrate direct light and scattered light with high magnification.

[0019] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the entire floating inflatable solar concentrator power generation device system, which, in addition to concentrating solar energy, includes a receiver for simultaneously generating electrical and thermal energy, a thermoelectric module for increasing the temperature of thermal energy and converting stored thermal energy into electrical energy, a thermal energy storage device, a battery pack with a charger and a charge controller, and a micro-inverter for outputting alternating current.

[0020] In the figure: 110-CPC, 120-flexible dome diverging Fresnel lens, 210-transparent bottom cover, 220-transparent cylindrical wall covered with display screen, 300-light source, 400-solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver, 500-thermoelectric module, 600-thermal energy storage device, 700-battery pack, 800-micro-inverter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The present application will be further described in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments. EMBODIMENT

[0022] See Figure 1The floating inflatable solar concentrator includes: an inflatable non-imaging non-tracking concentrator, the bottom of which is a CPC 110 (concentrating cavity) with its inner surface coated with a reflective material, and the top of which is a flexible dome diverging Fresnel lens 120, which is filled with helium or hydrogen; a transparent cylinder 220 with a display screen covering the wall, a transparent bottom cover 210 at the bottom; and a light source 300, which can be an LED or a bulb. When operating during the day, the incident light (including direct light and scattered light) is first refracted by the flexible dome diverging Fresnel lens 120, and then concentrated by the CPC 110 to the receiver, thereby simultaneously generating electric energy and thermal energy. At night, the light emitted by the light source 300 is reflected by the reflective layer coated on the inner surface of the CPC 110. The light source 300 is at least one LED lamp or a bulb.

[0023] Referring to Figure 2 , a space is left between the CPC 110 and the transparent cylinder 220 with a display screen covering the wall for installing a lamp. The lamp is at least one LED lamp or a bulb.

[0024] Referring to Figure 3 , the floating inflatable non-imaging non-tracking solar concentrator is composed of a CPC 110 at the bottom and a flexible dome diverging Fresnel lens 120 at the top.

[0025] Referring to Figure 4 , as long as the incident angles Ib and Id are less than the receiving half-angle θc of the CPC 110, both the parallel light Ib and the diffuse light Id will be concentrated on the receiver at the CPC output aperture.

[0026] Referring to Figure 5 , in the present application, a flexible dome diverging Fresnel lens 120 is added to the transparent cover of the inflatable CPC 110 with a small receiving half-angle, so that the oblique light is refracted into the small receiving half-angle. During the day, the morning light is refracted by the left side of the flexible dome diverging Fresnel lens 120, the afternoon light is refracted by the right side, and the noon light has less effect.

[0027] Referring to Figure 6 , during the day, the incident sunlight passes through the solar concentrator and is concentrated on a solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver 400 that simultaneously generates electricity and heat. Part of the generated electricity is stored in the battery pack 700, and the other part is used to power the thermoelectric module 500 to increase the temperature of the generated heat energy, which is stored in the heat energy storage device 600 for re-conversion into electric energy by the thermoelectric module at night. The electric energy stored in the battery storage device 700 is output as alternating current through the micro-inverter 800.

[0028] From the foregoing description, the advantages of the floating inflatable solar concentrator power generation system are apparent. The entire system floats in the air and does not occupy land. The display screen provides a platform for advertising. The fixed concentrator with high concentration ratio completely eliminates the need for a tracking system, thereby greatly reducing the cost of the solar system. The synergy of the fixed concentrator and the lighting device makes it a solar power generation system during the day and a solar lighting device at night. The system simultaneously generates electrical and thermal energy and uses the thermal energy generated by the thermoelectric module to warm up for thermal energy storage. This feature provides a way to achieve large-scale solar energy storage. The system provides a platform for the integration of energy storage, thermoelectric devices, and micro-inverters, making it a constant power generation device. The system combines the powerful function of the concentrator system and the simplicity of the flat photovoltaic panel. The system provides unprecedented opportunities for the integration of these systems into urban street lighting systems and rural solar-light complementary systems. Since the electricity generated is used to power the thermoelectric module, interaction between the thermal energy generation part and the electrical energy generation part is established, thereby improving the electrical power output.

[0029] The specific embodiments of the present application are described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes can be made within the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present application.

Claims

1. A floating inflatable solar concentrator, characterized in that: include: 1) A large, fixed solar concentrator filled with helium or hydrogen, comprising an inflatable dome-shaped divergent Fresnel lens and a non-imaging solar concentrator; 2) A transparent cylinder whose walls are covered with a display screen; 3) At least one LED lamp or bulb; 4) A solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver; 5) At least one thermoelectric module; 6) A thermal energy storage device; 7) A battery pack with a charger and a charge controller; 8) and a micro-inverter; wherein the transparent cylinder surrounds the large, fixed solar concentrator composed of an inflatable dome-shaped divergent Fresnel lens and a non-imaging solar concentrator; the LED lamp or bulb is located in... Within the space between a large fixed solar concentrator and a transparent cylinder; a solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver is positioned below the output aperture of the large fixed solar concentrator, which consists of a floating inflatable dome-shaped diverging Fresnel lens and a non-imaging solar concentrator; a thermoelectric module is mounted on the back of the solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver; the photovoltaic portion of the solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver is electrically connected to the thermoelectric module; the thermoelectric module is thermally coupled to a thermal storage device; the thermoelectric module is electrically connected to the battery pack via a charger and a charge controller; the photovoltaic portion of the solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver is electrically connected to the battery pack via a charger and a charge controller; a micro-inverter is electrically connected to the battery pack; The LED lights or bulbs are electrically connected to the battery pack via a controller. During operation, the daytime sunlight, including direct and diffused light, is first refracted by a dome-shaped Fresnel lens at the top of a large fixed concentrator consisting of a floating inflatable dome-shaped Fresnel lens and a non-imaging solar concentrator. Then, the light is concentrated by a parabolic trough concentrator at the bottom of the large fixed concentrator onto a solar thermoelectric and photovoltaic hybrid receiver. The receiver simultaneously generates electrical and thermal energy. Part of the generated electrical energy powers the thermoelectric module, and the other part charges the battery pack. The generated thermal energy is heated by the thermoelectric module and stored in a thermal storage device. The battery pack outputs AC power via a micro-inverter. At night, the stored thermal energy is extracted from the thermal storage device to generate electricity and charge the battery pack. The battery pack then powers the LED lights or bulbs.

2. The floating inflatable solar concentrator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The large fixed solar concentrator consists of a flexible dome-shaped diverging Fresnel lens at the top and a CPC non-imaging solar concentrator at the bottom; wherein, the CPC is a sealed bag made of a flexible film with a reflective coating on the inner surface; the flexible dome-shaped diverging Fresnel lens is molded on the top of the CPC, or formed by adding a separate flexible dome-shaped diverging Fresnel lens to the top transparent cover of the CPC.

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