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

小型企业创新研究(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，以提高效率并降低太阳能热能和太阳能电力的总成本。这有可能使太阳能热水在美国大部分地区自上世纪80年代S以来首次在财务上可行，同时提高太阳能发电的财务可行性。此外，太阳能热能被经济高效地储存在现场的热水箱中，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使用非成像光学和光学机械来高度聚集太阳光的新型光学系统来促进对太阳能聚光光学的了解。光伏产业给商业屋顶安装固定平板的成本带来了巨大的下行压力，但现有的太阳能聚光光学系统不采用固定平板的形式，无法利用这些成本的降低。该项目将开发一种光学系统，可以安装在与传统光伏面板相同大小和重量的固定平板中，从而受益于光伏安装成本的下降。该项目是几个尖端领域的交叉功能集成，包括非成像光学、先进光学材料、精密光学机械、嵌入式控制和快速成型。它的目标是确定这项技术在现实世界中的效率。预计它的最大光电转换效率为25%，水加热效率为45%，综合效率为70%。这代表着技术上的飞跃，超越了今天太阳能电池板15%-21%的效率。

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.