Photovoltaic Mirrors

Overview: A PV mirror is a combination of a concentrated solar power, collected by mirror reflection and solar panels.

Supplies: PV mirrors, alligator clip wires, multimeter, the sun or bright light

Objectives: Observe how different brightnesses of light and the sun collect different amounts of power.

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Setup:

• Place the PV mirrors on the ground facing away from the sun

• Clip the alligator clips on the mirror wires
• Plug the leads into the multimeter and turn the dial to Volts

How to run the demo:

• Turn the mirrors to face the sun
• BE VERY CAREFUL THE ANGLE THE MIRROR IS POINTED, AS IT IS CURVED AND WILL CONCENTRATE THE LIGHT IN TO A LIGHT BAR
• Note the voltage readings from the PV
• Move the PV to face different directions and notice how the voltage readings change at different angles away from the sun

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What’s Happening?

The PV mirror acts as both a collector and a reflector. The photovoltaic part generates power using devices that absorb energy from sunlight and convert it into electrical energy through semiconducting materials. Concentrated solar power, or CSPs use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver. The energy from the concentrated sunlight heats a high temperature fluid in the receiver. The heat, or thermal energy, is used to power an engine to generate electricity.

Try this:

• Use a power meter placed at the concentration bar to detect how much energy the CSP is producing.

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