The photovoltaic system in the form of a sunflower will produce light and water
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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In the near future, a new parabolic reflector of the plate type can appear, which can increase the radiation of the sun 2000 times, along with it, purifying the air and producing fresh water. About the soon release of the unique device has already announced the research organization IBM Research, which cooperates with private company Airlight Energy, whose work is related to the production and supply of solar technology for large-scale production.
The new system works on solar cells, which are cooled by water and as a result convert about 80% of solar radiation into energy.
The system is called Concentrator PhotoVoltaics (abbreviated as CPV) and looks like a huge sunflower (the height of the system is 10 meters). CPV is capable of producing 12 kW of electricity and 20 kW of heat on a fine day, which is quite enough for the energy needs of several small houses.
The principle of the system is to focus the mirrors of solar radiation on special elements. Silicon solar cells have an ignition point within 1500 0 C, but specialists, using their experience of creating supercomputers, have achieved a relatively low temperature - about 105 0 C, by cooling elements with water.
In CPV mirrors, electric receivers, photovoltaic cells are covered with a plastic transparent dome that protects the system from bad weather conditions.
Currently, work is underway on the technology, and manufacturing companies are planning to launch sales in 2017.
As experts note, CPV can be used not only in the city, but also geographically remote regions. A unique system is not suitable for installation on roofs, since its weight is about 10 tons, and the area it occupies is about 47m 2.
Such a system is ideal as a source of electrical power for hotels, resorts or shopping centers, etc.
Systems of this kind arose in the early 70's. At first, they used curved glasses or lenses that helped to concentrate sunlight on a small section of photovoltaic cells and increase the amount of electricity produced.
Traditional solar photovoltaic systems, usually installed on roofs, have an efficiency of up to 20%, on average they can increase solar radiation 500 times.
The new development allows to increase the radiation of the sun 2000 times, while its efficiency is 80%.
Since the sun's rays concentrate to the maximum degree on the photovoltaic cells, the system needs intensive cooling. The radiator system in the CPV filled with water serves not only for cooling, but is also capable of delivering hot water for heating and serves for air conditioning due to the absorption cooler.
The CPV system with an area of 40m 2 can produce more than 1300 liters of water daily.
Producers argue that the system for 1 m 2 of the receiver is capable of producing 30-40 liters of water daily, which will be suitable for drinking, while the amount of electricity produced per day is 2 kW / h, which is almost twice as much as a person needs per day.
Also, according to the producers, their multi-plant installation is capable of providing water requirements for the whole city. Since the project is still at an experimental stage, the company does not announce prices, but since the system is made of inexpensive materials, it can cost up to 5 times cheaper than analogs.