Development of a Novel Tunnel-junction-free Concentrator Cell and its Evaluation for a Smart Windows Application

我们建议开发一种新型太阳能电池，它将利用太阳光发电，效率超过30%。这至少是目前用于路边标志供电的电池效率的两倍，可与太空中为卫星供电的最高效率串联电池相媲美。然而，我们的蜂窝提供了许多优于串联的优点，特别是没有隧道结。这意味着它们可以应对建筑物上的阳光强度和光谱含量的巨大变化，以及降低太阳能发电成本的光集中系统。我们的单元特别适合一个令人兴奋的新应用程序——智能窗口。这些是双层玻璃立面，包含小型塑料透镜阵列，它们跟随太阳的运动，将阳光聚焦到小而不显眼的太阳能电池上。消除了直射阳光，减少了空调负荷，而智能窗户为建筑物提供热电联产（CHP）。即使在伦敦，所产生的电力也可以为一堵朝南的墙后面的办公室供电。智能窗户还允许无眩光的漫射阳光进入房间，这是电脑屏幕的理想照明。这种电池也非常适合集成到混合热电联产系统中，该系统利用集中的阳光和天然气作为备用，提供电力和热水。这种新设备采用了帝国理工学院与EPSRC国家III-V技术中心合作开发的新型纳米结构太阳能电池。可持续技术中心将描述新成立的英国公司SolarStructure的原型聚光器的电池性能，该公司最近成立的目的是制造智能窗户。

We propose to develop a novel type of solar cell that will generate electricity from sunlight with efficiency above 30%. This is at least twice the efficiency of the cells currently used to power roadside signs and comparable with the highest efficiency tandem cells which power satellites in space. However, our cell offers many advantages over the tandem, in particular the absence of a tunnel-junction. This means they can cope with the large variations in the intensity and spectral content of sunlight on buildings and in the light-concentrating systems which reduce the cost of solar electricity. Our cell is particularly suited to an exciting new application - smart windows. These are double-glazed facades containing arrays of small plastic lenses which follow the sun's movement and focus sunlight onto small, unobtrusive solar cells. Direct sunlight is removed and the air-conditioning load reduced, while the smart windows provide combined heat and power (CHP) for the building. Even in London the electricity generated would power the office behind a south facing wall. The smart windows also allow glare-free diffuse sunlight into the room, which is ideal lighting for a computer screen. The cells will also be ideal for integration into hybrid CHP systems that provide electricity and hot water from concentrated sunlight with a natural gas backup. The new device incorporates the novel, nanostructured solar cell that the Imperial group have developed in collaboration with the EPSRC National Centre for III-V Technologies. The Centre for Sustainable Technologies will characterise the cell performance on prototype concentrators of the new UK company SolarStructure, which has recently been formed to manufacture smart windows.