Materials for luminescent greenhouse solar collectors

Luminescent greenhouse solar collectors are potentially useful for concentrating sunlight onto photovoltaic power cells. Measurements of the performance of small-scale collectors made of two commercially available materials (Owens-Illinois ED2 neodymium-doped laser glass and rhodamine 6G-doped plastic) are presented. The results are encouraging, but they indicate a need for further spectral sensitization and for reduced matrix loss coefficient. The measurements with monochromatic illumination agree with the predictions of a mathematical model developed to take account of reemission following the absorption of luminescence. Under solar illumination, the model predicts photon flux concentrations of about 15 for optimized full-scale collectors made of the materials studied and concentrations of 110 for reasonably improved glass.