Improved Solar Panels

We have solar panels fitted on Rosie. I have never regretted for a moment fitting them. Now, researchers have devised a new technique for improving the connections between stacked solar cells, a development that should improve the overall efficiency of solar energy devices.

The new connections developed at North Carolina State University can allow cells to operate at solar concentrations of 70,000 suns worth of energy without losing much voltage as heat.

Stacked solar cells consist of several solar cells that are stacked on top of one another. Stacked cells are currently the most efficient cells on the market, converting up to 45 per cent of the solar energy they absorb into electricity. But to be effective, solar cell designers need to ensure the connecting junctions between these stacked cells do not absorb any of the solar energy and do not siphon off the voltage the cells produce, effectively wasting that energy as heat.

Dr. Salah Bedair, a professor of electrical engineering said 'We have discovered that by inserting a very thin film of gallium arsenide into the connecting junction of stacked cells we can virtually eliminate voltage loss without blocking any of the solar energy. This should reduce overall costs for the energy industry because, rather than creating large, expensive solar cells, you can use much smaller cells that produce just as much electricity by absorbing intensified solar energy from concentrating lenses. And concentrating lenses are relatively inexpensive.'