Jordanian researchers have developed a method that uses acrylic sheets to reflect and absorb unused solar radiation in the production of solar electricity. The solution can reduce the temperature of the solar panels by more than 14% and increase the power by about 2%.
The researchers said that 3 mm acrylic sheets can reflect and absorb 10% of the sun’s radiation with a wavelength of less than 1.1 μm, which is not enough to excite electrons in solar power generation. They believe that this unused radiation increases the temperature of the panel and degrades performance.
“All this wasted solar radiation only heats the solar panel and raises the surface temperature,” the researchers concluded.
For their experiments, the researchers used three monocrystalline solar panels tilted at 30 degrees, each with a power of 50 W, dimensions 630 mm x 540 mm x 18 mm and a weight of 3.3 kg.
They used one panel as a reference without an acrylic plate, while the other panel had a plate installed at a distance of 30 mm with varying inclinations of 15, 30 and 45 degrees. The third panel had a parallel mounted plate at the same distance.
Through analysis and testing, the researchers found that the panel with 30 and 45 degree slopes had the largest temperature drop of 14.5%, while the side-by-side plate panel saw a temperature drop of about 10%.
“Decreasing the surface temperature of the PV led to an increase in the electrical efficiency and output power of the PV by about 2%,” they explained. “The results of all the experiments showed that installing a clear acrylic sheet lowers the surface temperatures of the solar cell, improves performance, increases the production of electrical energy and extends the life of the cell.”
They introduced a new technique”Installing Clear Acrylic Sheeting to Reduce Unwanted Sunlight Waves Received by Photovoltaic Panels,” published recently Results from technology.
