Solar Ray Tracing Analysis to Determine Energy Availability in a CPC Designed for Use as a Residential Water Heater

Compound parabolic concentrators are relevant systems used in solar thermal technology. With adequate tailoring, they can be used as an efficient and low-cost alternative in residential water heating applications. This work presents a simulation study using a ray tracing analysis. With this technique, we simulate the interaction between solar rays and solar concentrator to quantify the amount of energy that impinges on the receiver at a particular time. Energy availability is evaluated in a comparison of two configurations throughout the year: static setup at 21° and multi-position setup; tilted with respect to the horizontal, depending on three seasonal positions: 0° for summer, 16° for spring/autumn, and 32° for winter, with the aim to evaluate the amount of available energy in each season. The fact that a tracking system can be dispensed with also represents an economical option for the proposed application. The results showed that at 21°, the proposed solar Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) works satisfactorily; however, by carrying out the selected angular adjustments, the overall energy availability increased by 22%, resulting in a more efficient option. The most effective design was also built and analyzed outdoors. The obtained thermal efficiency was of ~43%. The optical design and its evaluation developed herein proved to be a valuable tool for prototype design and performance evaluation.