Solar panels have long represented one of the most widely used alternatives when it comes to taking advantage of the elements of nature to generate energy, in this case from the Sun.
However, efficiency continues to be one of the aspects to improve in the use of these structures, given the loss of energy that they present when capturing sunlight and transforming it.
Initiatives such as the one carried out by researchers at the University of Waterloo in the creation of an algorithm that could be used to take full advantage of the energy processed by solar panels represent a sample of the effort that exists to solve this situation.
Focused on this purpose, Saudi researchers took on the task of developing spherical solar panels, a proposal whose use promises an increase of between 15 and 100% in power compared to that offered by traditional solar panels.
In this sense, current flat solar panels are incapable of retaining sunlight as much as possible, which is the reason why various methods have been implemented to achieve this objective, such as providing the plates with the ability to move in the direction of the sun. Sun.
However, this type of idea was not effective enough for the Saudi researchers, thus opting to create a kind of ball whose surface was covered by solar cells.
Increased efficiency
To achieve that the sphere, whose size is not larger than the palm of the hand, generated the power levels offered, the researchers had to carry out experiments in closed spaces and with different prototypes
In the case of the variability obtained in the power of between 15 and 100%, this is produced by the incidence of factors, such as the materials used in its manufacture, the position of the lamp, as well as the exposure time.
At the time of exposing the traditional plate and the spherical plate in a simulator for a certain time it was found that the spherical plate had generated a power level 24% higher than that of the conventional solar plate.
Later, when both plates were heated, a 39% increase in the power of the spherical plate was noticeable compared to the flat solar plate. In this way, it could be deduced that the spherical plate had a better capacity to dissipate heat, thus allowing its performance to be used for a longer time.
On the other hand, the researchers pointed out that in other experiments carried out with indirect light, the difference present in terms of efficiency between both plates was 60%, reaching even 100% as a result of the use of materials to concentrate the light, achieving with This will double the efficiency on the spherical plate.
The main reason involved in the construction of spherical solar panels is subject to the level of light that they are capable of retaining, also linked to the fact that the accumulation of dust in them is less compared to conventional solar panels, allowing them to be more efficient.
However, having discovered the potential of these spherical plates does not necessarily mean that they will be used immediately for the creation of future solar farms. This, because it is first necessary to evaluate the real cost involved in the manufacture of this type of spheres, as well as to determine their efficiency when being put into operation in a real environment and not simulated.
And it is that, despite being a technology present among us for half a century, it has been shown that it is still necessary to continue making improvements that make possible a total use of solar energy.
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