TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Present disclosure generally relates to the field of photovoltaic power generation.
Particularly but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to photovoltaic panels.
Further, embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a modular photovoltaic
10 enclosure of an agricultural field for regulating solar radiation being incident on crops
enclosed therein.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
15 [0002] Generally, solar panels are used to generate photovoltaic power using sunlight.
The generated power may be used for various purposes such as heating water, charging
electrical equipment/devices, powering illumination devices, pumping water, etc.
Further, to meet current demand for electricity, large solar parks are set up usually in
common lands from where solar energy may be harvested and transmitted as usage
20 energy across distances. Furthermore, for operation of such solar parks, acquisition of
large tracts of land may be required, which may result in displacement of local
livelihood, whereby adversely impacting local ecological systems.
[0003] Using land below the solar panels would increase the overall productivity &
25 reduce competition on resources. However, because of the shade under the panels, only
few crops which may grow even under shade could be considered. Crops in an
agricultural field require certain amount of sunlight for photosynthesis. During noon
time of summer periods of year, the plants may receive higher intensity of sunlight than
required, which may result in lower chloroplast, wilting of plants, and loss of yield,
30 among others. Therefore, conventionally, large tracts of land are utilized solely for either
generating photovoltaic power or to grow crops. Hence, there is a necessity to utilize
large tracts of land for generating photovoltaic power as well as to grow crops. In other
words, in order to avoid wastage of such large tracts of land, water wastage from
cleaning of solar panels, integration of agricultural systems with solar power generation
35 is considered.
3
5 [0004] With advent of technology, efforts have been made to facilitate production of
both photovoltaic power as well as to grow crop in the same land. Such may be achieved
by installing a series of solar panels above cultivated crops and by maintaining required
distance between adjacent solar panels, which ensure sunlight reaches the cultivated
crops. Such technique is generally termed as “Agrivoltaics” or “Agrophotovoltaics”.
10 However, in conventional technology, the series of solar panels tend to create complete
shade on the cultivated crops below, which may restrict incidence of direct sunlight on
the crops that are below the series of solar panels. In other words, the cultivated crops
that are under the solar panels may receive minimal to no sunlight when compared with
the cultivated crops beyond such shade of the solar panels, which inherently affect plant
15 physiology yield and/or growth of the cultivated crops in the land. To curb such light
deficiencies and/or over-incidence of solar radiation on crops, some crops are grown in
artificial enclosures by creating artificial lighting among others, where such enclosures
are expensive to maintain and require additional equipment for temperature control,
humidity control and the like.
20
[0005] The present disclosure is directed to overcome one or more limitations stated
above or any other limitations associated with thereto. Further, the aspects of
‘Background’ should not be construed as a limitation of the present disclosure.
25 [0006] The drawbacks/difficulties/disadvantages/limitations of the conventional
techniques explained in the background section are just for exemplary purpose and the
disclosure would never limit its scope only such limitations. A person skilled in the art
would understand that this disclosure and below mentioned description may also solve
other problems or overcome the other drawbacks/disadvantages of the conventional arts
30 which are not explicitly captured above.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0007] One or more shortcomings of the conventional techniques are overcome by a
modular photovoltaic enclosure as claimed and additional advantages are provided
35 through the modular photovoltaic enclosure as claimed in the present disclosure.
Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present
4
5 disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail
herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.
[0008] In one non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure, a modular
photovoltaic enclosure is disclosed. The modular photovoltaic enclosure comprises a
10 base mounted on ground and defined by a plurality of longitudinal members and defined
with a plurality of extensions extending from the plurality of longitudinal members in a
downward direction to transmit load of the modular photovoltaic enclosure to the
ground. The enclosure includes at least one frame detachably mounted on the base and
extends an upward direction from the base and defined with a plurality of receiving
15 spaces. The enclosure includes a plurality of walls disposable within the plurality of
receiving spaces of the at least one frame. The enclosure includes at least one top portion
connectable to the plurality of walls, where the at least one top portion and the plurality
of walls are configured to displace relative to the at least one frame to selectively allow
air circulation and diffused solar radiation.
20
[0009] In an embodiment, the at least one top portion is a slanted roof defined by a
second set of walls including at least two inclined walls to define the at least one top
portion.
25 [0010] In an embodiment, the ratio of length of the at least two inclined walls is in a
range of 0.6:1 to 0.4 to 1.
[0011] In an embodiment, the at least one top portion is defined with a plurality of vents
to selectively vent out hot air from the modular photovoltaic enclosure to external
30 environment.
[0012] In an embodiment, the modular photovoltaic enclosure comprises a plurality of
racks disposed on the base, the plurality of racks include at least one reflector disposed
between the plurality of racks to direct a portion of the regulated sunlight to the crops
35 based on requirement.
5
5 [0013] In an embodiment, the modular photovoltaic enclosure comprises a slider
mechanism to slide the plurality of walls relative to the at least one frame to selectively
allow air circulation.
[0014] In an embodiment, each of the plurality of walls comprises a plurality of
10 photovoltaic modules.
[0015] In an embodiment, the at least one top portion includes a plurality of beams and
a plurality of purlins in a spaced apart configuration corresponding to the plurality of
photovoltaic modules.
15
[0016] In an embodiment, the at least one top portion comprises one or more
concentrators to receive and direct solar radiation to the plurality of racks.
[0017] In an embodiment, the modular photovoltaic enclosure comprises at least one
20 guide member disposed between the one or more concentrators and the plurality of racks
to guide the solar radiation from the one or more concentrators to the plurality of racks.
[0018] It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure
described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects
25 and embodiments may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the
disclosure.
[0019] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way
limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described
30 above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to
the drawings and the following detailed description.

We Claim:
1. A modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) for crops, the enclosure (100)
comprising:
a base (2) mounted on ground (30) and defined by a plurality of
longitudinal members (2a), the base (2) is defined with a plurality of extensions
10 (2b) extending from the plurality of longitudinal members (2a) in a downward
direction to transmit load of the modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) to the
ground (30);
at least one frame (4) detachably mounted on the base (2) and extending
in an upward direction from the base (2), the at least one frame (4) is defined
15 with a plurality of receiving spaces (4a);
a plurality of walls (6) disposable within the plurality of receiving spaces
(4a) of the at least one frame (4);
at least one top portion (8) connectable to the plurality of walls (6), and
wherein the at least one top portion (8) and the plurality of walls (6) are
20 configured to displace relative to the at least one frame (4) to selectively allow
air circulation and diffused solar radiation.
2. The modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at
least one top portion (8) is a slanted roof defined by a second set of walls (8a,
25 8b) including at least two inclined walls to define the at least one top portion (8).
3. The modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein ratio of
length of the at least two inclined walls is in a range of 0.6:1 to 0.4 to 1.
30 4. The modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at
least one top portion (8) is defined with a plurality of vents (20) to selectively
vent out hot air from the modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) to external
environment.
35 5. The modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprises a
plurality of racks (14) disposed on the base (2), the plurality of racks (14) include
20
5 at least one reflector disposed between the plurality of racks (14) to direct a
portion of the regulated sunlight to the crops based on requirement.
6. The modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, comprises a
slider mechanism (18) to slide the plurality of walls (6) relative to the at least
10 one frame (4) to selectively allow air circulation.
7. The modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of
the plurality of walls comprises a plurality of photovoltaic modules (11).
15 8. The modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the at
least one top portion (8) includes a plurality of beams (81) and a plurality of
purlins (82) in a spaced apart configuration corresponding to the plurality of
photovoltaic modules (11).
20 9. The modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein the at
least one top portion (8) comprises one or more concentrators (16) to receive and
direct solar radiation to the plurality of racks (14).
10. The modular photovoltaic enclosure (100) as claimed in claim 9, comprises at
25 least one guide member disposed between the one or more concentrators (16)
and the plurality of racks (14) to guide the solar radiation from the one or more
concentrators (16) to the plurality of racks (14).