Researchers looking into updating Malosky Stadium's solar panels
Matt Beaumont
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: News
The project involves refracting light so that some of the surrounding light waves that would have otherwise missed the panels can now be used. This idea will be achieved by using mirrored film around the outside of a solar panel, effectively increasing the surface area and creating a larger target for light to hit.
"The idea is to get a substantial boost in output for roughly a 10 percent extra cost," Norr said, "it would be like building a second solar panel."
However, by increasing the total amount of light that hits each panel, excess heat is also created. Norr explained that a standard solar panel can convert 15 percent of the light that it absorbs into usable energy. But as a solar panel heats up, it loses one percent of that efficiency for every increase of 10 degrees that it is heated.
"We will be looking for the sweet spot," Norr said.
This sweet spot is a point in which the surface area of a panel, and the extra heat that is being contributed, leave the solar panel working at its optimal efficiency. The new panels would be used primarily for education and research into solar-based energy for use in the northern portion of the United States.
The plan is to construct three completely new solar panels on top of Malosky Stadium, alongside the large stationary set of panels already constructed. Something that each of the three panels will share is a tracking system that will ensure that each panel is pointing at the sun at all times. Their differences, however, lie in the amount of reflective film. The first panel will act as the control, receiving no reflective film.
The second and third, on the other hand, will have their surface area effectively doubled and quadrupled, respectively. This means that the amount of light focused on the third panel should be four times as intense, and the second should be twice as intense.
The total energy conversion will be monitored and the information could change how solar technology is constructed in this part of the country.
"The idea is to get a substantial boost in output for roughly a 10 percent extra cost," Norr said, "it would be like building a second solar panel."
However, by increasing the total amount of light that hits each panel, excess heat is also created. Norr explained that a standard solar panel can convert 15 percent of the light that it absorbs into usable energy. But as a solar panel heats up, it loses one percent of that efficiency for every increase of 10 degrees that it is heated.
"We will be looking for the sweet spot," Norr said.
This sweet spot is a point in which the surface area of a panel, and the extra heat that is being contributed, leave the solar panel working at its optimal efficiency. The new panels would be used primarily for education and research into solar-based energy for use in the northern portion of the United States.
The plan is to construct three completely new solar panels on top of Malosky Stadium, alongside the large stationary set of panels already constructed. Something that each of the three panels will share is a tracking system that will ensure that each panel is pointing at the sun at all times. Their differences, however, lie in the amount of reflective film. The first panel will act as the control, receiving no reflective film.
The second and third, on the other hand, will have their surface area effectively doubled and quadrupled, respectively. This means that the amount of light focused on the third panel should be four times as intense, and the second should be twice as intense.
The total energy conversion will be monitored and the information could change how solar technology is constructed in this part of the country.
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