The Fresnel lens concept for solar control of buildings

Fresnel lenses are optical devices for solar radiation concentration and are of lower volume and weight, smaller focal length and lower cost, compared to the thick ordinary lenses. The advantage to separate the direct from the diffuse solar radiation makes Fresnel lenses suitable for illumination control of building interior space, providing light of suitable intensity level and without sharp contrasts. In this paper, the Fresnel lens concept is suggested for solar control of the buildings to keep the illumination and the interior temperature at the comfort level. Laboratory scale experimental results are presented, giving an idea about the application of this new optical system. The collection of 60-80% of the transmitted solar radiation through the Fresnel lenses on linear absorbers leaves the rest amount to be distributed in the interior space for the illumination and thermal building needs. In low intensity solar radiation, the absorber can be out of focus, leaving all light to come in the interior space and to keep the illumination at an acceptable level. The Fresnel lenses can be combined with thermal, photovoltaic, or hybrid type photovoltaic/thermal absorbers to collect and extract the concentrated solar radiation in the form of heat, electricity or both. By using thermal absorbers and for low operating temperature, efficiency of about 50% can be achieved, while considering photovoltaics, satisfactory electrical output can be obtained. Regarding the effect of the suggested system to building space cooling, the results showed a satisfactory temperature reduction, exceeding 10 degrees C for cold water circulation through the absorber. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.