BIBECHANA Vol. 21, No. 2, August 2024, 142-148 ISSN 2091-0762 (Print), 2382-5340 (Online) Journal homepage: http://nepjol.info/index.php/BIBECHANA Publisher:Dept. of Phys., Mahendra Morang A. M. Campus (Tribhuvan University)Biratnagar Efficiency enhancement of solar cell using mirror concentrator Mohammad Ali1, Mohammad M. Tawhid2∗ 1European University, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh 2North Western University, Khulna-9100, Bangladesh ∗Corresponding author. Email: ku.tawhid@gmail.com Abstract This research is done to find out a method by which the efficiency of a solar cell can be increased by using mirror concentrator to get a higher power and optimum efficiency. At first the sun lights are incident on the mirror concentrator made of plane glass and then the reflected rays are incident to the solar cell. Flat mirror concentrator (FMC) has been used to increase the incident irradiance on solar panel system by concentrating the sun light ray on it and then to improve the cell performance. A comparison is made for the same PV solar panel systems using single and triple flat mirror concentrator. It is a beneficial and important theory of solar power plant sector. It can be used in household and any kind of industrial area. The FMC consists of two flat mirrors made of glass, with dimensions (170cm × 80cm) enclosed by aluminum frame and inclined to an angle 55 ° with a solar panel (160cm × 120cm) tilted at 45° from the horizon. The results indicated that when the concentrator is used with the solar panel the efficiency increased by a factor of 4.52% to 11.34%. So, the increase in efficiency of the solar cell is 6.82%. Keywords Mirror concentrator, Reflected ray, Solar cell, Efficiency, Inclined Angle, Power. Article information Manuscript received: March 7, 2024; Revised: April 5, 2024; Accepted: April 14, 2024 DOI https://doi.org/10.3126/bibechana.v21i2.63560 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-NC License. https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 1 Introduction Solar panels will play a major role in future sustain- able energy production, but they work best when sunlight hits them directly. This can be a problem when sunlight is diffused by cloud cover or the sun moves overhead throughout the day. Many solar arrays actively rotate toward the Sun to capture as much energy as possible. This makes them more expensive and complicated to build and maintain than stationary ones. The negative aspects of fossil fuels and non-renewable energy sources are being increasingly scrutinized due to their harmful effects on the environment. This impact has been exacer- bated by the rapidly changing nature of the Earth's climate in recent years, and more effort than ever is being put into renewable energy technologies in an effort to phase out non-renewable technologies and prioritize renewable energy sources. Among all renewable energy sources, photovoltaics (PVs) 142 http://nepjol.info/index.php/BIBECHANA ku.tawhid@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3126/bibechana.v21i2.63560 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Mohammad Ali and Mohammad M. Tawhid/ BIBECHANA 21 (2024) 142-148 143 – commonly known to the public as solar cells – are one of the most widely researched and deployed technologies due to the abundance of sunlight that hits the Earth every day. Depending on what they are made of and how they are constructed, PVs can have a range of functions for converting sunlight energy into electricity. However, if they are to be realized as a primary energy source in the future, their efficiency must be increased to offset the loss of energy generated from non-renewable sources. One way to increase the efficiency of PV is to use photo- voltaic/solar concentrators. However, as with most components in technology, there are many different types, all of which have different advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of the type, the general principle of a solar concentrator is that it is an op- tical element (be it a lens, curved mirror or a flat mirror) that can be used to condense the light en- tering the PV, making it more efficient and con- verting sunlight into electricity. Concentrator is a recent discovery that has a unique geometry that is attractive for solar electric generation systems need- ing concentration. Since the Industrial Revolution, energy demand and economic growth have taken off simultaneously [1]. Numerous renewable energy sources are being researched by various countries to meet the demand for energy [2]. Research on solar energy is being conducted rapidly [3, 4]. Sustain- able and green energy solutions are a recent method of making this planet cleaner and safer. Electrical energy share has been gradually enlarged and cur- rently stands at 20% [5]. RERs (Renewable Energy Resources) have attracted a market, and various RER-based models have been developed [6]. There have been varying behavioral trends and levels of social acceptance of RERs [7–9]. RERs mainly consist of solar, wind, biomass, and hydro energy, which are freely available primary sources, in con- trast with traditional fossil fuels. They are free from toxic or hazardous flow gases, making them more viable and greener. Wind energy has been utilized to meet energy needs, but has limitations of cut-in, rated, and furling wind speed, which vary depend- ing on the location. Earth receives an amount of solar energy which is 6000 times greater than hu- man energy needs [10]. Solar energy has dominated the energy sector as a long-lasting technology com- pared to other resources. It is also projected that we will achieve zero CO2 emissions by 2050 [11]. In this research, a comparison is made for the same PV solar panel systems using single and triple flat mirror concentrator. It is a beneficial and impor- tant theory of solar power plant sector. It can be used in household and any kind of industrial area. The FMC consists of two flat mirrors made of glass, with dimensions (170cm × 80cm) enclosed by alu- minum frame and inclined to an angle 55 ° with a solar panel (160cm × 120cm) tilted at 45° from the horizon. The results indicated that when the con- centrator is used with the solar panel the efficiency increased by a factor of 4.52% to 11.34%. So, the increase in efficiency of the solar cell is 6.82%. An important advantage of using of flat mirror con- centrator is that, they are cost-effective and avail- able in the market. It is making the usage of solar panel more feasible in developing countries of the world reducing the overall cost of electricity gen- eration and improving the efficiency by PV solar system. Another advantage, is the easy installation of this system. As output of average power has in- creased considerably during mid-day using mirrors, so the panels which are equipped with mirrors are also able to be used for those equipments which re- quire high rating power inputs during that part of the day time. But cleaning of the concentrator on regular basis is a must. 2 Literature Review In 2023, N. S. Buktukov et al. [12] researched-on determination of the electrical characteristics of the solar cell inside the solar cells. The paper presents the results of experimental studies of a solar panel with a holographic concentrator and photovoltaic cells based on gallium arsenide. The high efficiency of converting solar energy into electrical power is shown when dispersing and focusing different wave- lengths on a photocell. During elaboration of the obtained volt-ampere characteristics of solar pho- tovoltaic conversion elements, which determine the output power of the photovoltaic panel, the high po- tential of the developed design of the photovoltaic panel has been revealed. In the year of 2022, M. Singh et al. [13] made a study to create more electricity by employing mirrors to collect more solar radiation as well as sunlight to Photovoltaic cells. This improves the amount of energy that can be generated by a cer- tain region of solar cells. The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether or not a simplified mirror technique can improve the performance of a solar cell, to determine the aspects of a solar cell that can be improved using simplified mirror techniques, and to confirm that the solar cells' performance has improved as a result of the simplified mirror tech- niques. The use of reflectors that are flat in form allows for an extra level of sunlight concentration to be achieved on the surface of the solar panel. In 2021, A. Shariah et al. [14] established a de- sign containing construction, installation and test- ing a stationary (non-tracking) concentrating sys- tem in Irbid, Jordan. Bifacial solar cells are used in the design. Two concentrator designs (with the same concentration ratio) are experimentally tested. Conc-A has a parabolic shape in the lower part but flat reflecting walls, whereas Conc-B has Mohammad Ali and Mohammad M. Tawhid/ BIBECHANA 21 (2024) 142-148 144 a standard compound parabolic shape in all parts. The receiving solar cells are arranged in three dis- tinct positions in each concentrator. The results re- veal that the output power from both concentrators is affected by the placement of the receiving solar cells within the concentrator. It has also been found that concentrators with flat reflecting walls perform better than those with parabolic reflecting walls. Conc-A’s power collection is ~198% greater than that of a non-concentrating device. When Conc-B is used, the increase in power is ~181%. During the age of 2019, F. Sh. Zainulabdeen et al. [15] focused on developing a method of evalu- ation the effect of concentrator on the solar panel performance to get a higher power and optimum efficiency. The results indicated that when the con- centrator is used with the solar panel the efficiency increased by a factor of (51%) to (64%) and the variation in efficiency () is (25.4%), the variation in maximum output power (Pm) is (17%) and all solar parameters increased. In 2016, Dr. Ali H.AL-Hamadany et al. [16], they studied on two flat glass mirrors that was used as concentrator of solar panel system. The mirrors increase's the concentration of sun light ray on the solar module. Anew model of solar panel system is designed by mean of software Zemax in order to find best possible inclination angle of the concentrator that improves the performance of the solar panel. So, the efficiency is 59.5% for designed system with inclination angle 60° of the concentrator. In the year of 2015, M. Bilal et al. [17] This pa- per presents the comparison performance of a PV module without reflecting mirror and with reflect- ing mirror and manual tracking. The values of short circuit current and open circuit voltage were mea- sured under different conditions of tracking. The output power was calculated and the values were obtained for different combinations. Findings from the experiments present that through using concen- trators, a 25% mean rise of short-circuit (Isc) cur- rents with sun tracking, can be achieved. Results also show that PV module with only tracking gives higher output than the system without tracking but the system with reflecting mirror and tracking gives greater output power. In 2013, Basavaraj et al. [18] had a power short- fall of 70,000 megawatts while using 600.6 million kWh of energy. There were about 300 million peo- ple in India who did not have access to power. In December 2013, there was a power shortfall of 6,120 MW in south India. 2.1 Solar Panel Solar panels are nothing but an electrical device which can transfer the light energy into electrical energy. Solar panels absorb the sun's rays and con- vert them into electricity or heat. A solar panel is actually an assembly of solar cells, which can be used to generate electricity through photovoltaic ef- fect. These cells are arranged in a grid-like pattern on the surface of solar panels. It can also be de- scribed as a set of photovoltaic modules, mounted on a structure supporting it. Solar cells are pro- duced depending on Silicon diffusion process. In- stallation of solar panels in homes results in com- bating the harmful emissions of greenhouse gases. Thus, solar cell helps to reduce global warming also [19, 20]. Solar panels do not lead to any form of pollution and are clean. They also decrease our dependence on fossil fuels which are limited and tra- ditional power sources. A PV system was tested in Ghardaia that produced 12.91% and 20.89% more energy using single- and dual-axis solar tracking, respectively [21]. Figure 1: Monocrystalline Solar Panels. Mohammad Ali and Mohammad M. Tawhid/ BIBECHANA 21 (2024) 142-148 145 A mathematical model of a dual-axis solar tracking system was tested for the partial CPV technology that achieved satisfactory performance in comparison with a non-tracking system [22]. The layers are arranged in such a way that the highest energy band gap material is placed at the top, while the lowest band gap material is placed at the bot- tom. MJ junction solar cells have a higher efficiency compared to single-junction cells. In a five-junction cell achieved efficiency of up to 40% [23]. 2.2 Concentrator The concept of Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) is to use optical devices technically to concentrate the sunlight on small and efficient photovoltaic so- lar cells. Hence, the cost will be reduced by means of replacing the cell surface by the less expensive material used for the optical devices (glass, silicon. etc.) therefore the technology has great potential for cost reduction [24] Figure 1: Diagram of Mirror Concentrator working. Solar concentrators can also be used to melt materials and enforce heat engines. In the seven- teenth century, lenses or burning glasses were the dominant form of concentrator. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the most popular con- centrators were cone- shaped or parabolic reflec- tors. In the early twentieth century, many large solar energy projects used parabolic trough reflec- tors. Today's concentrators for photovoltaic system still have these basic forms. Bulk lenses, however, have been ruled out because of weight and cost, and are usually replaced by thin Fresnel lenses [25]. The structures and theory of concentrator solar cells are basically no different from those of non- concentrator cells, there are some subtle differences in the theory, but they can be ignored for simplic- ity [26]. Pin = I × A (1) Efficiency η = Pout ÷ Pin (2) where Pin is the incident power of the sun and can be calculated from multiplying the (I) solar ir- radiance in (W/m²) by the area of the solar cell or module (A) in square meter unit. The aim of this research is to improve the performance efficiency and reduce the cost of PV module by using a Flat Mirror Concentrator with the solar panel system to decrease the price of the electricity production. 3 Material and Methods mirror concentrator was used on a rooftop where the sunlight was sufficient targeting to enhance the efficiency of solar cell to complete this research. All the arrangements was done for measuring the length and width of the solar cell and also for the concentrator. Flat mirror concentrator (FMC) has been used to increase the incident irradiance on so- lar panel system by concentrating the sun light ray on it and then to improve the cell performance. A comparison is made for the same PV solar panel systems using single and triple flat mirror concen- trator. It is a beneficial and important theory of solar power plant sector. It can be used in house- hold and any kind of industrial area. The FMC consists of two flat mirrors made of glass, with dimensions (170cm × 80cm) enclosed by aluminum frame and inclined to an angle 55 ° with a solar panel (160cm × 120cm) tilted at 45° from the horizon. The mono crystalline silicon wafer was used for fabricating the solar cell in this re- search. The starting material was p-type silicon wafer. The weight and average thickness of the raw Mohammad Ali and Mohammad M. Tawhid/ BIBECHANA 21 (2024) 142-148 146 silicon wafer were 6.47 gm and 182.5 m respectively and the crystal orientation was (100). The steps of producing the solar cell were Cleaning, Texturing, Edge Isolation and doping. In diffusion process, the technology used for the doping method was phos- phorus diffusion. In this research the solar panel had a Solar Length = 0.16 m and Solar Width = 0.12 m. Some people use the same principle when they use a magnifying lens to focus the Sun's rays on a pile of kindling or paper to start fires. Figure 2: Working principle of Luminescent solar concentrators (LSC). Figure 3: Image view of the research work. As the solar concentrators follows the sun, the sun lights fall on the reflective concentrator and re- flects the concentrated solar power onto a receiver. The advantage of using a solar concentrator is that it can provide a high solar electricity. 4 Results and Discussion 4.1 Results This research is done for a 10 W solar cell (with efficiency 3.90%) before and after using mirror con- centrator by two steps. Atfirst single mirror was used as concentrator for the solar cell and the effi- ciency was found 4.52%. After that three mirrors were used as concentrator and then the efficiency was found for the same solar cell 11.34% which is the proof of efficiency enhancement using mirror concentrator. We know, Efficiency η = Pout ÷ P in Now, Pout = V× I = 15 × 0.6 = 0.9 watt Pin = 1000 Wm-2 × (Length × Width) where Solar Length = 0.16 m and Solar Width = 0.12 m So, Efficiency η = Pout ÷ P in × 100 = 0.9 ÷ (1000× 0.16× 0.12) × 100 = 4.52% Again, Voltage V = 10.22 V, Current I = 0.2208 A So, Pout = 10.22 × 0.2208 = 2.257 W And Pin = 1000 Wm-2 Efficiency η = (2.257 ÷ 19.91) = 11.34% (where solar width = 19.91 m) 4.2 Discussion The experiment was done repeatedly within sun- light where the sunlight was available. From the re- Mohammad Ali and Mohammad M. Tawhid/ BIBECHANA 21 (2024) 142-148 147 sult and calculation, it is obvious that if mirror con- centrator can be used industrially for a solar panel, then the efficiency can be found in a high percent- age. As the number or area of the concentrator is increased then the efficiency is increased also. If the area of concentrator can be increased providing the scope to receive a large amount of light, the out- put efficiency can be increased also. In future this research can be extended by increasing the number of the concentrator whether the efficiency enhance- ment is occurred or any other changes are found. It can also be done further by applying this exper- iment for various type Concnetrator. 5 Conclusion A mirror concentrator was used on a rooftop where the sunlight was sufficient targeting to enhance the efficiency of solar cell to complete this research. All the arrangements was done for measuring the length and width of the solar cell and also for the concen- trator. The results obtained show that, use of plane mirror for improving the performance of the solar panels have shown impressive results. An impor- tant advantage of using of flat mirror concentrator is that, they are cost-effective and available in the market. It is making the usage of solar panel more feasible in developing countries of the world reduc- ing the overall cost of electricity generation and im- proving the efficiency by PV solar system. Another advantage, is the easy installation of this system. As output of average power has increased consid- erably during mid-day using mirrors, so the panels which are equipped with mirrors are also able to be used for those equipments which require high rat- ing power inputs during that part of the day time. But cleaning of the concentrator on regular basis is a must. The results indicated that when the con- centrator is used with the solar panel the efficiency increased by a factor of 4.52% to 11.34%. So, the increase in efficiency of the solar cell is 6.82%. As the number or area of the concentrator is increased the efficiency is increased also. It can also be done further by applying this experiment for various type Concnetrator. References [1] F. Meinardi, F. Bruni, and S. Brovelli. Lu- minescent solar concentrators for building- integrated photovoltaics. Nature Reviews Ma- terials, 2(12):1–9, 2017. [2] F. D. Speck, J. H. Kim, G. Bae, S. H. Joo, K. J. J. Mayrhofer, C. H. Choi, and S. Cherevko. Single-atom catalysts: A per- spective toward application in electrochemical energy conversion. JACS Au, 1(8):1086–1100, 2021. [3] Z. Quan, C. B. Han, T. Jiang, and Z. L. Wang. Robust thin films-based triboelectric nanogen- erator arrays for harvesting bidirectional wind energy. Adv. Energy Mater., 6(5):1501799, 2016. [4] J. Li, S. Gao, R. Long, W. Liu, and Z. Liu. Self-pumped evaporation for ultra-fast water desalination and power generation. Nano En- ergy, 65:104059, 2019. [5] International Energy Agency (IEA). World energy outlook 2021. https://www.iea. org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021, 2021. [6] B. Akarsua and M. S. Genc. Optimiza- tion of electricity and hydrogen production with hybrid renewable energy systems. Fuel, 334:124465, 2022. [7] E. Park. Social acceptance of renewable energy technologies in the post-fukushima era. Front. Psychol., 11:612090, 2021. [8] A. Masrahi, J.-H. Wang, and A. K. Abudiyah. Factors influencing consumers’ behavioral in- tentions to use renewable energy in the united states residential sector. Energy Rep., 7:7333– 7344, 2021. [9] L. V. Lerman, G. B. Benitez, W. Gerstlberger, V. P. Rodrigues, and A. G. Frank. Sustain- able conditions for the development of renew- able energy systems: A triple bottom line per- spective. Sustain. Cities Soc., 75:103362, 2021. [10] G. M. Masters. Renewable and Efficient Elec- tric Power Systems. John Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2004. [11] R. B. Chadge, N. Sunheriya, J. P. Giri, and N. Shrivastava. Experimental investigation of different electrical configurations and topolo- gies for photovoltaic system. Mater. Today Proc., 57:316–320, 2022. [12] Nikolay S. Buktukov, Konstantin A. Vassin, and Gulnaz Zh. Moldabayeva. Study on the effectiveness of a solar cell with a holographic concentrator. Energy Harvesting and Systems, 11(1):20220106, 2024. [13] Maghar Singh and Geena Sharma. Simplified mirror techniques for improving solar cell per- formance. IJRTI, 7(12), 2022. [14] Adnan Shariah and Emad Hasan. Design of a new static solar concentrator with a high concentration ratio and a large acceptance an- gle based on bifacial solar cells. Clean Energy, 7(3):509–518, 2023. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021 https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021 Mohammad Ali and Mohammad M. Tawhid/ BIBECHANA 21 (2024) 142-148 148 [15] Faten Sh. Zainulabdeen, Ali H. Al-Hamdani, and Ghada Sabah Karam. Improving the per- formance efficiency of solar panel by using flat mirror concentrator. In AIP Conference Pro- ceedings, volume 2190, 2019. [16] Ali H. Al-Hamadany, Faten Sh. Zain Al- Abideen, and Jinnan H. Ali. Effect of angle orientation of flat mirror concentrator on solar panel system output. IOSR Journal of Com- puter Engineering, 18(1):16–23, 2016. [17] Muhammad Bilal, Muhammad Naeem Arbab, Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Afridi, and Al- ishpa Khattak. Increasing the output power and efficiency of solar panel by using concen- trator photovoltaics (cpv). International Jour- nal of Engineering Works, 3(12):98–102, 2016. [18] G. Basavaraj, N. Das, B. Ray, and F. Alam. Pv cell output power enhancement by cool- ing and reduction of reflection losses from mir- ror. In 31st Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), pages 1–6. IEEE, 2021. [19] D. Sato, Y. Yamagata, K. Hirata, and N. Ya- mada. Mathematical power-generation model of a four-terminal partial concentrator photo- voltaic module for optimal sun-tracking strat- egy. Energy, 213:118854, 2020. [20] I. Ourraoui and A. Ahaitouf. Investigation of the feasibility and potential use of sun tracking solutions for concentrated photovoltaic case study fez morocco. Energy Rep., 8:1412–1425, 2022. [21] M. A. Green, E. D. Dunlop, J. Hohl- Ebinger, M. Yoshita, N. Kopidakis, K. Bothe, D. Hinken, M. Rauer, and X. Hao. Solar cell efficiency tables (version 60). Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl., 30:687–701, 2022. [22] A. Luque and V. Andreev. Concentrator Pho- tovoltaics. Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, 2007. [23] H. Chenming, M. W. Richard, J. G. Fossum, E. L. Burgess, and F. A. Lindholm. Solar Cells from Basics to Advanced Systems. McGraw– Hill, University of California, Berkeley, 1983. Solid – State Electronics, Vol. 21, p. 729. [24] A. Luque and V. Andreev. Concentrator Pho- tovoltaics. Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, 2007. [25] H. Chenming and Richard M. W. Solar Cells from Basics to Advanced Systems. Mc- Graw–Hill, University of California, Berkeley, 1983. [26] J. G. Fossum, E. L. Burgess, and F. A. Lind- holm. Solid – state electronics. Solid - State Elec., 21:729, 1978. Introduction Literature Review Solar Panel Concentrator Material and Methods Results and Discussion Results Discussion Conclusion