Optimization of power generation through solar panels It has long been a subject of study. IN Ecuador, three students presented a prototype that offers an interesting and rather curious approach. They created a sort of magnifying glass that allows the sun’s rays to be concentrated and magnified on the panel to make it more efficient. called energy balland the most interesting thing is that only water and a recycled plastic bottle were used to develop it.
This particular solution was born in Yachai Research University of Experimental Technologywhich is commonly known as Yachay Tech. Creators energy ball They are three young people who study different professions at this institution but come together for the same purpose: to make solar energy production more efficient. And the goal has an even nobler motivation, because in the future, its intention is for the technology to serve to supply electricity to the most remote rural areas of the Ecuadorian territory.
The students who stood for energy ball These are Dalena Leon (Physics), Emilia Iglesias (Chemistry) and Ronnie Velastegui (Information Technology). What they did was reuse the plastic bottle, give it a spherical shape and fill it with water. They then mounted it on a wooden stand with a small, flexible solar panel underneath.
This may not seem like much at first, but the young inventors were keen to show that, at least on a small scale, it is possible to optimize the performance of power generation with solar panels. In fact they claim that energy ball It is able to provide enough power to charge a mobile phone battery or turn on a light bulb.
Inexpensive Invention to Improve Solar Power Generation
As Yachay Tech students explained, solar panels reach their optimum performance when they receive sunlight at a 90 degree angle. However, since this does not happen throughout the day, the opportunity to get the most out of this type of clean energy facility is lost.
energy ballthey explain, focuses the sun’s rays at a certain point on the panel, no matter at what angle they enter the sphere. This in turn makes the captured light more intense. The ideologues of this project indicated that with the help of this kind of magnifying glass, they seek to improve the performance of solar panels without the need for modifications. In the course of their experiments, they managed to increase the efficiency of the plate used up to 40%.
The concept is not new, of course. Last year, a Stanford University study was published that aimed to get a similar result, but in a different way. This does not detract from Ecuador’s efforts, which offer an alternative approach to fixing the biggest problem with solar panels.
We made it clear that the aspirations of the creators of the device are very interesting. Optimize solar power generation by using only a plastic sphere filled with water, could be vital to bringing electricity to remote rural areas of Ecuador. Or even from any other part of the world. However, it is still unknown how the prototype could be adapted to work on a larger scale.
It is clear that we are dealing with an initial project, which, although rudimentary, can be a starting point for finding a cheap method that optimizes the generation of electrical energy using the sun. The initiative still leaves several issues to be addressed, especially about its scalability. However, this is a very promising first idea and even offers an interesting approach to reusing plastic that would otherwise end up in the trash.
Source: Hiper Textual
