Optimization of Lamps Configuration for a Large-scale Indoor Solar Simulator for PV Panels and Solar Collectors

The current study presents investigations of a solar simulator design, development, and performance characterization for the application of photovoltaic (PV), thermal collector, and photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) indoor experiments. The study highlights the research outcomes of the lamp configurations and numbers in the simulator to achieve an acceptable radiation distribution in the targeted area as per the ASTM standards. Tungsten Halogen lamps were used to mimic solar radiation due to their proximity to the solar spectrum of the visible and infrared band and relatively low cost. The results indicate that a solar simulator of Class-C for spatial uniformity and Class-A for temporal uniformity can be achieved with the application of Tungsten Halogen lamps if arranged properly and a range of radiation flux can be obtained to replicate the variation of solar flux during the daytime. It was observed that three to six lamps of 1kW arranged in specific configurations can provide solar radiation varying from 378 to 969 W/m2 mimicking the daytime solar flux variation on an experimental area of 1200 × 520 mm2.