Energy Simulation of a Holographic PVT Concentrating System for Building Integration Applications

A building integrated holographic concentrating photovoltaic-thermal system has been optically and energetically simulated. The system has been designed to be superimposed into a solar shading louvre; in this way the concentrating unit takes profit of the solar altitude tracking, which the shading blinds already have, to increase system performance. A dynamic energy simulation has been conducted in two different locations—Sde Boker (Israel) and Avignon (France)—both with adequate annual irradiances for solar applications, but with different weather and energy demand characteristics. The simulation engine utilized has been TRNSYS, coupled with MATLAB (where the ray-tracing algorithm to simulate the holographic optical performance has been implemented). The concentrator achieves annual mean optical efficiencies of 30.3% for Sde Boker and 43.0% for the case of Avignon. Regarding the energy production, in both locations the thermal energy produced meets almost 100% of the domestic hot water demand as this has been considered a priority in the system control. On the other hand, the space heating demands are covered by a percentage ranging from 15% (Avignon) to 20% (Sde Boker). Finally, the electricity produced in both places covers 7.4% of the electrical demand profile for Sde Boker and 9.1% for Avignon.