Thermal Modelling of a Renkube Panel

Renkube's new Solar PV panel which uses Motion Free Optical Tracking (MFOT) technology gives a 20% increase in energy yield over Fixed tilt solar panels due to increased redirected light on the cell [1]. This is achieved by using fixed glass light redirecting reflectors. The 20% increase in yield is in the same improvement range as Single Axis Trackers but there are no moving parts and no maintenance costs. Since it is expected that the increased light on the cell will lead to a slight increase in cell temperature, thermal modeling needs to be carried out to predict the temperature of the cell and to ensure that it is well below the “Solar Panel Maximum Temperature” which is on average around 85°C. Furthermore, we show that all cells of the panel receive equal illumination. We validate our findings with our prototype set up on the roof of our office in Bangalore, India. We conduct thermal modelling simulations for warmer locations all over the world such as India, US, Australia and UAE to understand the maximum cell temperatures obtained.