SpaceTech: rays of light cracking through the sogsi-muck!!
Hey, You Wanna Be 500X More Efficient? Try the space solar cells...
What's the news in the Photovoltaic world? Well, the old news (already) is that there is not enough Solar Grade Silicon (SoG-Si) around. Anywhere.... So what's new then? Well, it seems that some people have been doing what plants in the rainforest know best; find a niche and then maximize what you can get from the minimal resources available. Two companies in particular, Australia's Green & Gold Energy, and Spain's Sol3G. These two camps have created novel solar PV systems, that I think you will find quite exciting!!
And it's funny that these two techs are coming out at the same time-- developed on different sides of the planet (as if there's some kind of intelligent or cognitive field that they are both tuned into), there's an eerie similarity in the way they work. So let's get to it: This is the spanish GiraSol
,
and while we're at it, take a gander at the Australian SunBall.
While they look different, both the GiraSol and the SunBall have pretty much the same things happening inside: They use space-module style solar panels instead of the traditional, you know, BSPolar kind. They are radically more efficient than regular PV panels. So much more efficient, that instead of blanketing the roof with the panels, they only need to use very small pieces. Here, this is how little paneling is used. This is the indside of the SunBall
...And to add some perspective, this is a SunBall on a roof (so you can see how tiny it is, and then how little paneling is really being used):
.jpg)
And even though they are tiny, all you need is 4 SunBalls on a roof to power a home)
So how do they generate any serious amount of electricity? Well, they are also covered in lenses that can amplify the sun about x500 times, and then to make matters better, they also have built in sun-tracking divices (some cool videos here to further maximize what they can draw from el Sol....
While being pretty much the same (ok one's a box the other's a ball--- but aside from cosmetics..), there is even one more cool difference here, which is that the GiraSol is using something called "triple junction InGaP/GaAs/Ge," a 30% efficient Silicon replacement
..fun in the sun... what more can I say??
What's the news in the Photovoltaic world? Well, the old news (already) is that there is not enough Solar Grade Silicon (SoG-Si) around. Anywhere.... So what's new then? Well, it seems that some people have been doing what plants in the rainforest know best; find a niche and then maximize what you can get from the minimal resources available. Two companies in particular, Australia's Green & Gold Energy, and Spain's Sol3G. These two camps have created novel solar PV systems, that I think you will find quite exciting!!
And it's funny that these two techs are coming out at the same time-- developed on different sides of the planet (as if there's some kind of intelligent or cognitive field that they are both tuned into), there's an eerie similarity in the way they work. So let's get to it: This is the spanish GiraSol
,
and while we're at it, take a gander at the Australian SunBall.
While they look different, both the GiraSol and the SunBall have pretty much the same things happening inside: They use space-module style solar panels instead of the traditional, you know, BSPolar kind. They are radically more efficient than regular PV panels. So much more efficient, that instead of blanketing the roof with the panels, they only need to use very small pieces. Here, this is how little paneling is used. This is the indside of the SunBall
...And to add some perspective, this is a SunBall on a roof (so you can see how tiny it is, and then how little paneling is really being used):
And even though they are tiny, all you need is 4 SunBalls on a roof to power a home)
So how do they generate any serious amount of electricity? Well, they are also covered in lenses that can amplify the sun about x500 times, and then to make matters better, they also have built in sun-tracking divices (some cool videos here to further maximize what they can draw from el Sol....
While being pretty much the same (ok one's a box the other's a ball--- but aside from cosmetics..), there is even one more cool difference here, which is that the GiraSol is using something called "triple junction InGaP/GaAs/Ge," a 30% efficient Silicon replacement
..fun in the sun... what more can I say??