Focusing on the innovative design of a nonimaging Fresnel lens concentrator, this book provides an in-depth exploration of its optical performance, including test results and comparisons with imaging Fresnel lenses and mirror-based systems. It highlights the synergy between nonimaging optics and solar energy collection, emphasizing the need for flexible, uniform flux concentrators that address solar disk size and tracking errors. Additionally, the text discusses the evolution of nonimaging optics since 1965 and its applications in more lucrative fields like optoelectronics.
Nonimaging Fresnel Lenses: Design and Performance of Solar Concentrators delves into the realm of nonimaging optics for sunlight concentration. Readers may come from various backgrounds, including optical sciences, and may seek a comprehensive understanding of the optical performance of the world's first practical nonimaging Fresnel lens concentrator. The book provides detailed insights into nonimaging optics, supported by test results, and compares these findings with imaging Fresnel lenses and mirror-based concentrators. For solar energy professionals, the text explains the synergy between nonimaging optics and solar energy collection, highlighting that solar energy concentration does not require imaging qualities. Instead, it emphasizes the need for flexible designs of uniform flux concentrators that accommodate solar disk size, spectrum, and tracking errors. Since its inception in 1965, nonimaging optics has evolved significantly, proving invaluable for solar power conversion. This expertise is also applicable to other fields, such as optoelectronics, where market opportunities are currently more lucrative than in solar power generation.
