(David Shankbone / Wikipedia / cc-by-3.0)
The U.S. Research Projects Agency ARPA-E invested 30 million dollars in procedures to make cheap solar energy 24 hours a day.
solar power based on photovoltaic modules currently works known only when the sun shines . But new hybrid systems promise a permanent supply of solar energy., The the U.S. Department of Energy owned research agency ARPA-E now finds $ 30 million in various demonstration projects in which solar cells are combined with solar thermal
The ARPA-E says that the fact that solar energy based on solar cells is available only temporarily, technology still highly restricted. You will therefore achieve in the long run than 5 percent of total energy production in North America, officials believe. “The untapped solar technology is therefore almost thrown away,” fears Cheryl Martin, Deputy Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency.
If you want to save electricity from photovoltaic modules have here comparatively expensive batteries. Solar thermal energy is used in the sunlight to heat water to drive steam turbines that can store energy in insulated tanks, but is almost twice as expensive, depending on the country. The ARPA-E will therefore over different create pathways combination solutions. Some modern solar power systems focus sunlight onto small, for example, super-efficient solar cells. In the current configuration of this concentrated sunlight is converted into electricity immediately, while the remaining energy is lost in the atmosphere. If this heat could be collected, they could be stored and later used for generation of electricity. The challenge now is to develop solar cells that can handle much higher temperatures – they must be resistantAnother possibility would be the separation of the solar spectrum.. Solar cells, certain wavelengths into electricity very well, others do not. It would be conceivable to use certain wavelengths that can not be efficiently exploited by photovoltaics for water heating and steam production.
A third approach is being developed by Todd Otanicar, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Tulsa. It uses nanoparticles floating in a transparent solution to absorb certain wavelengths. Other wavelengths penetrate the solution, however, and so achieve a solar module. By the absorption of sunlight by the nanoparticles heat up this and the so-heated liquid can in turn be used to generate steam. The idea to produce both heat and electricity using solar cells is not new. Some companies already use tubes on the back of conventional solar panels and pump water through it. The excess heat from the solar heated so the water, which in turn makes hot water generators unnecessary. However, such systems are not very efficient. ARPA-E is also considering to promote new energy storage systems that can store both heat and electricity. Heat helps example, in the electrolysis and can simplify the process of hydrogen generation. The hydrogen was then used again for the operation of fuel cells. In other electrochemical reactions, the heat generated by the sun would be useful – for example, in the manufacture of fossil fuels. <- Googleoff: all ->
