RPI and 96.2% efficiency

Moe
Moe Solar Expert Posts: 60 ✭✭

Comments

  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    i've heard this before, but i don't fully believe it.
    "It captures more colors of solar spectrum and it captures light from all angles."
    i think they may make improvements to these areas, but a bold statement like capturing light from all angles is pure bull and impossible.
  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    And the "Laser Sulfur" treatment is supposed to get up to 90%. But they actually haven't made any yet...
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,591 admin
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    From the article, if I understand it correctly, the coatings will only increase light collection by 30% from off-angle sun (reducing the need for a tracker)...

    So, a 12% efficient panel will become a 16% efficient panel... Not bad--if the costs are low--but not a 96% efficient conversion by any means.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • boB
    boB Solar Expert Posts: 1,032 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    Article says:
    "If you look at a solar panel, it looks a bit bluish," Lin said. That is "telling you not all of the blue color is being absorbed. It should look totally dark."

    So I covered my PV with black electrical tape and it didn't help at ALL !! :confused:

    boB :D
  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    Sulfur Silicon solar cells - called Black Silicon, has been lasered in a sulfur rich gas, gets transmogrified to structural shape that is very efficient at harvesting solar energy, across much of the light & IR bands. 80% conversion ??

    Laboratory use only - not life or field tested yet.

    articles here:
    http://mazur-www.harvard.edu/research/detailspage.php?rowid=1
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_silicon
    http://tinyurl.com/4w3pbq
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

  • LBergman
    LBergman Solar Expert Posts: 42
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    I don't think they're claiming 96% efficiency. What they are saying is the cells will absorb 96% of the sunlight hitting them (vs. ~67% for current cells). There's still the normal conversion of turning the absorbed sunlight into electricity.
  • boB
    boB Solar Expert Posts: 1,032 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    I believe that this blog has to do with this new solar skin cream...

    http://energy-for-future.blogspot.com/

    So, where can I get some to try ??

    Also, just found one of RPI's sites about this:

    http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2507


    boB :D
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    My Good Grief Bob! I had a look at that first link you provided and what a pile of horse fertilizer resides there :(
    One guy built his own PV panel and still using the same KWH he always did, is now saving $180 per month on his electricity bill! And it says he lives near me! HAHAHA Problem is, some poor guy trying desperately to make ends meet, will get suckered into this crap and the end result will be word of mouth about how bad solar is.
  • Moe
    Moe Solar Expert Posts: 60 ✭✭
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    Thank you all for your explanations. A 40% improvement in output at a 90º sun angle, as well as reduced loss at angles away from that, would be a very large improvement in the state of technology.
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    Hello Moe,
    The coating will reduce the amount of energy that would be lost due to reflection (typically a few percent but increases as the incident angle increases). The antireflection coating still doesn't solve the problem of reduced intercepted power at large incident angles. The power intercepted by a collector is proportional to the cosine of the incident angle. For example, at a zero degree incident angle 100% of the power is available minus a small amount of reflected light. At a 60 degree angle, only 50% of the beam power is available minus perhaps 10% due to reflection.
    The net result is that a tracking system would still be needed to collect the maximum amount of light throughout the day.

    Regards,
    Jeff Fedison
  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    Also, the abstract from the article is available here:

    http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=ol-33-21-2527
  • Moe
    Moe Solar Expert Posts: 60 ✭✭
    Re: RPI and 96.2% efficiency

    Thanks for the good info, Jeff!