A detailed investigation and performance optimization of a photovoltaic panel integrated with a reflecting mirror

In this paper, the performance of a photovoltaic panel integrated with a reflecting mirror is investigated. In this regard, the effects of panel and mirror tilt angles, and the mirror length on the system performance are modeled. The cell temperature rises have also been considered. Moreover, by a 3D model, the lighting and shading statuses are studied in detail, and all the possible conditions are presented and modeled. The resulting model can calculate the amount of incident solar energy on the panel and the generated electrical power in every moment during a year. This amount is dependent on the system configuration and capacity and its location. A 250-W photovoltaic panel and the city of Tehran have been considered the basics of calculations to assess the model results. By employing the genetic algorithm method, the optimum configuration has been found to have 69.084° and 0° tilt angles for the panel and the mirror, respectively, at the mirror length of 2 m. This configuration can generate 2.38 GJ (613.89 kWh) of electrical energy annually. It was also found that the optimum configuration had 0.024 GJ of annual energy losses due to the effects of cell temperature rise.