Reon Energy

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3D Solar Panels and Flat Solar Panels
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Solar power engineering is taking new heights as
researchers around the world invent and reinvent
methods to harness solar energy to its best
capacity. We see the trend in 3D technology
everywhere Movie theaters, home theaters, game
consoles, 3D printers. Until now, improving the
performance of photovoltaic cells involved only
rearranging the layout of solar panels on a flat
surface and bringing down their cost.
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But, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology worked on avant-garde 3D designs
that would look beyond the traditional outlook of
arranging cells on a flat surface or motorized
structures keeping them pointed towards the sun.
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Traditional solar panels lay flat on a surface or
rooftop, facing the sun to collect energy. MIT
researchers decided to change the shape of solar
panels, conducting experiments with a cube, tall
cube, and tower-shaped panels to see which design
brought in more energy.
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Compared to flat panels, all three 3D panels
created impressive results and outproduced
traditional panels, with the accordion-style
tower drawing in 20 times more power per square
foot. The panels were tested during both cloudy
and sunny conditions, and proved to perform
consistently despite the weather changes.
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Researchers also say the tower style panel helps
save space by standing vertically, and the design
will be easier to manufacture than the cubes.
However, they do anticipate the designs to be
more expensive to produce than flat panels, but
the payoff could be worth the investment.
Manufacturers aim to use thin film technologies
to help reduce cost but still have the panels
capable of harvesting energy in low light and
cloudy conditions.
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The highly visible differences were noticed in
situations and places that were far from equator,
in winter months and on cloudy days. The team at
MIT worked on a variety of configurations,
testing them under a whole range of latitudes,
seasons and weather. Every time, the power
generated by these models differed than that of
ordinary solar panels. Even the cost of the 3D
models was balanced by the output generated over
the course of a day as well as during days and
seasons when traditional panels are unable to
perform their best.
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Since the 3D models performed consistently on
given day, in any weather condition, they would
be easier to integrate with power grids than
conventional systems. The effectiveness of 3D
models is because of the vertical solar cell
surfaces that can collect maximum sunlight even
during mornings, evenings, winters and when the
sun is closer to the horizon.
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The MIT study states that making these
improvements can help power output become more
predictable and uniform, which could make
integration with the power grid easier than with
conventional systems. With the accordion tower
design, the panels could be shipped in a flat
folded state, and restructured to its zig zag
shape at the installation site. Researchers
imagine these towers to be perfect for parking
lots to help electric vehicles find their green
charging stations. Related Articles https//www.t
reehugger.com/solar-technology/3d-solar-towers-cou
ld-generate-20x-more-energy-flat-panels.html https
//futurism.com/mit-building-3d-solar-towers-far-a
chieved-phenomenal-results https//www.reonenergy.
com/our-projects/