Researchers looking into updating Malosky Stadium's solar panels
Matt Beaumont
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: News
New solar-based platforms using experimental reflective technology may soon find a home on the roof of Malosky Stadium, as UMD researchers start a fresh Solar Research Project.
Currently, Malosky Stadium has a stationary set of 28 solar panels that generate most of the energy needed by the press box. The large collection of panels can be seen shimmering in the sky when bathed in direct sunlight, but soon will become a distant, dark shadowy mass when the sun moves out of the panels' field of view.
While the process in the actual conversion is quite technical, panels work by converting light waves from the sun into usable energy. The best conditions call for not only intense direct sunlight, but also a low heat environment. The research team hopes to design an efficient solar panel by increasing the amount of available light using a mirror-like material. More focused light means more focused heat, however. This creates a problem.
"It's not efficient," said Paul Weber, a professor that helped with preliminary ideas for the upcoming project, "It's a conflict, and it's not easy."
This conflict is finding a way to optimize the amount of power without causing solar panel prices to skyrocket even higher. The amount of light and the amount of heat are the main factors, and any addition made to the current solar panels would create an extra cost, also a problem.
The goal of the new solar research project is to find a means to accomplish both of these conditions at a minimal cost. Scott Norr, a computer engineering instructor that is in charge of the project, explained that since the university is north of the equator, the sun light received throughout the year fluctuates, and is not powerful enough to a use a standard panel to its full potential.
"The panels that you see on the roof now are not maxed," Norr said while he explained that the panels on the roof of Malosky Stadium simply don't produce as much usable energy as they potentially could.
Currently, Malosky Stadium has a stationary set of 28 solar panels that generate most of the energy needed by the press box. The large collection of panels can be seen shimmering in the sky when bathed in direct sunlight, but soon will become a distant, dark shadowy mass when the sun moves out of the panels' field of view.
While the process in the actual conversion is quite technical, panels work by converting light waves from the sun into usable energy. The best conditions call for not only intense direct sunlight, but also a low heat environment. The research team hopes to design an efficient solar panel by increasing the amount of available light using a mirror-like material. More focused light means more focused heat, however. This creates a problem.
"It's not efficient," said Paul Weber, a professor that helped with preliminary ideas for the upcoming project, "It's a conflict, and it's not easy."
This conflict is finding a way to optimize the amount of power without causing solar panel prices to skyrocket even higher. The amount of light and the amount of heat are the main factors, and any addition made to the current solar panels would create an extra cost, also a problem.
The goal of the new solar research project is to find a means to accomplish both of these conditions at a minimal cost. Scott Norr, a computer engineering instructor that is in charge of the project, explained that since the university is north of the equator, the sun light received throughout the year fluctuates, and is not powerful enough to a use a standard panel to its full potential.
"The panels that you see on the roof now are not maxed," Norr said while he explained that the panels on the roof of Malosky Stadium simply don't produce as much usable energy as they potentially could.
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