SBIR Phase I: A Novel Flat-Panel Optics System for Solar Cogeneration on Commercial Rooftops

SBIR 第一阶段：用于商业屋顶太阳能热电联产的新型平板光学系统

• 批准号: 1520316
• 负责人: Arun Gupta
• 金额: $ 15万
• 依托单位: Skyven Technologies
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-07-01 至 2016-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1520316&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; Novel; Flat; Panel

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to combine solar electricity generation and solar water heating into a single system, in a way that increases efficiency and reduces the total cost of both solar heat and solar electricity. This has the potential to make solar water heating financially viable in much of the United States for the first time since the 1980's, while simultaneously improving the financial viability of solar electricity. In addition, solar heat energy is cost-effectively stored in on-site hot water tanks, providing a means of using solar energy without impacting the nation's electric grid.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance knowledge of solar concentration optics by introducing a novel optical system that uses non-imaging optics and opto-mechanics to highly concentrate sunlight. The photovoltaics (PV) industry has put tremendous downward pressure on the cost of installing stationary flat panels on commercial rooftops, but existing solar concentration optics systems do not take the form of stationary flat panels and cannot leverage these cost reductions. This project will develop an optical system that fits inside a stationary flat panel of the same size and weight as a traditional PV panel, and thereby benefiting from the falling cost of PV installation. The project is a cross-functional integration of several cutting-edge fields, including non-imaging optics, advanced optical materials, precision opto-mechanics, embedded controls, and rapid prototyping. Its objective is to determine the technology's real-world efficiency. It is anticipated to demonstrate peak sunlight-to-electricity efficiency of 25% and water heating efficiency of 45%, for a combined efficiency of 70%. This represents a technological leap forward over the 15%-21% efficiency of today's solar panels.

该小企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是将太阳能发电和太阳能热水结合到一个系统中，从而提高效率并降低太阳能热和太阳能发电的总成本。 这有可能使太阳能热水器自 20 世纪 80 年代以来首次在美国大部分地区实现经济可行性，同时提高太阳能发电的经济可行性。 此外，太阳能热能经济高效地存储在现场热水箱中，提供了一种在不影响国家电网的情况下使用太阳能的方法。这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将通过引入一种新颖的光学系统来增进对太阳能聚光光学的了解，该光学系统使用非成像光学和光学机械来高度聚集阳光。 光伏（PV）行业对在商业屋顶安装固定平板的成本施加了巨大的下行压力，但现有的太阳能聚光光学系统不采用固定平板的形式，无法利用这些成本降低。 该项目将开发一种光学系统，安装在与传统光伏板尺寸和重量相同的固定平板内，从而受益于光伏安装成本的下降。 该项目是多个前沿领域的跨职能整合，包括非成像光学、先进光学材料、精密光机械、嵌入式控制和快速原型制作。 其目标是确定该技术的实际效率。 预计太阳能发电峰值效率为 25%，水加热效率为 45%，综合效率为 70%。 这代表了当今太阳能电池板效率 15%-21% 的技术飞跃。