In a perfect world, 100 percent of the sunlight shining onto a solar panel would be converted into electricity. If this were the case, humanity could finally consign fossil fuel energy sources to history as relics of a backward age, before renewable energy provided all the power we could ever need.
Unfortunately, the current conversion record for common silicon-based solar panels – such as those used in home rooftop solar energy systems – stands at around 17 percent, so we still have a way to go before we reach our solar-powered utopian dream.
Until then, many companies are working on ways to boost the conversion rate of existing solar technology by adding or removing elements of the panels themselves that in some way hamper sunlight absorption by the photovoltaic (PV) cells within the solar module.
Global energy technology corporation, Honeywell, are aiming their product, SOLARC PV, the latest anti-reflective gel-based coating for solar panels, at the problem of light deflection from the shiny toughened glass surface of PV panels.
Able to be rolled or sprayed on to a glass surfaces at a thickness of just 550 nanometres, Honeywell say their SOLARC coatings significantly reduce light reflection, resulting in more light reaching the solar cell, which translates into higher conversion to electricity.
Honeywell say they have demonstrated a three-to-four percent increase in energy transmission after SOLARC is applied to the surface of solar panels, a figure not to be sneezed at remembering the standard rate hovers below 20 percent.
SOLARC PV is a simple idea: paint the solar panels an attractive matt gloss, reduce the glare and absorb more light. This, the company says, along with Honeywell’s simple application technology and the increased use of PV coatings, is the product’s main selling point.
Make the rooftop solar power system look good; make the home look good, too – and maybe help save the planet along the way.
