Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Heard something today on DR Karl on JJJ about the development going into solar panels.. apparently someone come up with the idea of connecting cells in a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) style.


Apparently if you have a panel, and one corner of it is shaded, it effects the whole panel as the cells rely on each other, so Hooking each cell in a RAID style Configuration would allow panels to be more effective.

There was also some talk about cooling panels to make them more efficient, which was brought up by someone asking if you were to point a mirror at a panel would it give it double the efficiency, while in theory it would work however the panel would be retarded by the extra heat there for becoming less efficient...


just somthing i heard

On new inventors last night there was a woman who has invented putting a thin silm of silver over the panels then baking them in an oven to bead the silver into tiny balls. Increases the efficiency by 20%. A plasmonic light trap.. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s3203925.htm

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/science/pod ... 110505.mp3

This is a link to the podcast

Wasn't IBM working on a solar cell that uses a magnifying lens and a heat sink.

Have noticed that the output of our system jumps from 2400W on a sunny day to 3500w on a day with white cloud and the sun out between them,
Thinking reflected light as well as direct

In development is a system of Solar Cells Mounted to a Heat conducting media which has pipes running thru it..

The Sun is directed to the Cells via a Parabolic mirror the Sun light is multiplied to the state the cells collect a Lot more energy than they would by direct light alone..
The backing media of the strip also heats up to the state that they can produce steam..

A very interesting project.. I just hate that I have lost my Link to it..

Juergen

I think you are correct Mantis.

later,

jeff c

http://www.dkasolarcentre.com.au/go/abo ... lar-centre

I havent looked at this for a while, but this is a group of installations in the outback that tells you difference in performance b/w brands/size/conditions/tracking etc...

...or maybe the panels are cooler on the cloudy day. when I wash the dust off our panels with the garden hose the output of the system jumps by about 10-15% for a minute or two.