New solar panel design could increase could increase daily PV energy production by 20% and it is far more important than you think | Daily Reports Online
- Reflect10 solar panel geometry increases daily energy production by 20%
- Cells capture more sunlight during low-angle hours and cloud conditions
- Silicon panel efficiency limits are nearing – this is big news
Canadian startup Reflect10 has introduced a new photovoltaic (PV) module architecture that could significantly boost how much energy solar panels could produce, and it’s nothing to do with the maximum wattage.
Instead, the upgrade embeds a light-reflecting geometry directly into the solar panel to reflect incoming sunlight multiple times, giving photons additional opportunities to hit the PV cells. By enabling additional reflections and angles, it means solar panels can convert even more sunlight into electricity as the sun sets into lower angles.
Though the concept as a whole already existed, it previously required external mirrors or motors, making the installation more expensive. Various studies pointed at energy production improvements of between 11% and 57%.
The same panel, with the same wattage, could produce 20% more capacity
According to the company, it could lead to 20% higher average daily energy production compared with standard solar panels, with low-angle times like early morning and late afternoon generating up to 2.66x more power. The technology also promises to increase efficiency during conditions of diffused light, like cloudy weather.
This upgrade also comes at an important time, because conventional silicon solar cells are quickly approaching their theoretical efficiency ceiling, making it nearly impossible to produce more electricity.
“These results represent a significant and immediate step forward at a time when the industry has faced a fundamental physical ceiling for decades,” founder Louis Massicotte said (via pv magazine).
According to the company, the global solar industry has grown by an average of +0.18 percentage points of efficiency per year under real field conditions since 1954, marking very slow progress.
Ultimately, Reflect10 boosts panel efficiency not by boosting the cell efficiency itself, but rather by enabling more light to hit the cells. Ultimately, it means that a 500W panel, for example, could produce 500W of electricity more of the time, rather than being restricted to a lesser wattage due to unfavorable conditions, leading to a higher total capacity (measured in kWh).
Proven efficiency-boosting PV tech could tackle current restrictions
Though testing data primarily comes from optical simulations by Canada’s National Optics Institute, the company has also conducted proof-of-concept field trials to prove it works across both Morocco and Canada.
An independent scientific review carried out by the Île-de-France Photovoltaic Institute (IPVF) also notes the technology’s potential to scale and plug gaps in grid shortfalls across a broader range of times – not just during peak sunlight hours.
“By increasing production at the beginning and end of the day, the technology could help better match periods of peak electricity demand while reducing the concentration of generation around the midday solar peak,” IPVF research director Pere Roca i Cabarrocas commented.
The company is now pursuing three international Patent Cooperation Treaty applications ahead of its public presentation in Paris.
Reflect10 itself doesn’t plan to manufacture panels with the new light-reflecting geometry – instead, the Canadian company is offering 50 non-exclusive licenses for its intellectual property to module manufacturers.
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