β² 252 βΌ Colored solar panels that mimic tiles roof hit 95% efficiency (interestingengineering.com) submitted 4 months ago by CAVOK@lemmy.world to c/europe@feddit.org 52 comments fedilink hide all child comments
[β] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 38 points 4 months ago (1 child) Yeah, thatβs a bit of a misleading headline. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CIA_chatbot@lemmy.world 27 points 4 months ago (2 children) Yea. 95% efficient panel is Nobel prize level of story, making it look like a roofing tile would not even be a bullet point in the story permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago (2 children) It's also a physical impossibility iirc permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [β] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 4 months ago (1 child) It depends how you're defining it. 95% of all wavelengths that hit it being converted is impossible, because solar panels only work within certain spectral ranges, but it's theoretically possible, although technically difficult, to have 95% of all relevant wavelength photons converted into electricity. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 5 points 4 months ago (1 child) For a p-n junction based cell, the theoretical maximum efficiency is about 33%. You can game this a bit using tandem cells with layers of varying bandgaps, but even as the number of layers approaches infinity the theoretical maximum only increases to about 68%. They're also not hugely practical or cheap, obviously, and in practice they barely reach above the regular limit of 33% due to engineering constraints. There are some other ways of trying to get around it, but I don't know of any that can approach 95% efficiency. Worth noting that this is staggeringly high efficiency in comparison to most other energy sources, given that at the end of the day all of them ultimately come from sunlight. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) You could potentially get up to 90% (maybe more) efficiency with an optical recetnna. Though manufacturing one is presently out of reach. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Ooh cool I hadn't heard of them! My understanding from the wiki page though is that the 90% efficiency refers to energy transfer efficiency within the microwave range, rather than the conversion rate from sunlight which is theorised to be about 70%. The stuff about generating power in space using solar cells then transferring it back to earth sounds awesome, though possibly a bit impractical compared to regular solar farms. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Technically you could use them on the ground too, they just make a convenient method to build a recieving station for microwave beaming, so potentially if we ever get them working in optical ranges its just a much better solar pannel. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago Sick. Seems like something to keep an eye on permalink fedilink source parent [β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago (1 child) I think plants are pretty close? permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 child) Surprisingly not! I'd have expected photosynthesis to have similar energy efficiency to man-made solar panels, but it's actually only around 11%. I suppose since leaves have more functions than just energy generation for a plant, it's not usually an evolutionary imperative to maximise efficiency. There's probably a bit of variation between different geographic regions, I'd imagine. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago Ah, i meant the chloroplasts only. There's ongoing research to replicate the high efficiancy, something with a wavelength matching molecular "antenna". What was it, somewhere over 90%. permalink fedilink source parent [β] olafurp@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago It's also way above the limit of a regular single layer solar. I think the theoretical limit was around 30% which can only be surpassed by having multiple layers like with perovskites. permalink fedilink source parent
[β] CIA_chatbot@lemmy.world 27 points 4 months ago (2 children) Yea. 95% efficient panel is Nobel prize level of story, making it look like a roofing tile would not even be a bullet point in the story permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago (2 children) It's also a physical impossibility iirc permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [β] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 4 months ago (1 child) It depends how you're defining it. 95% of all wavelengths that hit it being converted is impossible, because solar panels only work within certain spectral ranges, but it's theoretically possible, although technically difficult, to have 95% of all relevant wavelength photons converted into electricity. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 5 points 4 months ago (1 child) For a p-n junction based cell, the theoretical maximum efficiency is about 33%. You can game this a bit using tandem cells with layers of varying bandgaps, but even as the number of layers approaches infinity the theoretical maximum only increases to about 68%. They're also not hugely practical or cheap, obviously, and in practice they barely reach above the regular limit of 33% due to engineering constraints. There are some other ways of trying to get around it, but I don't know of any that can approach 95% efficiency. Worth noting that this is staggeringly high efficiency in comparison to most other energy sources, given that at the end of the day all of them ultimately come from sunlight. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) You could potentially get up to 90% (maybe more) efficiency with an optical recetnna. Though manufacturing one is presently out of reach. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Ooh cool I hadn't heard of them! My understanding from the wiki page though is that the 90% efficiency refers to energy transfer efficiency within the microwave range, rather than the conversion rate from sunlight which is theorised to be about 70%. The stuff about generating power in space using solar cells then transferring it back to earth sounds awesome, though possibly a bit impractical compared to regular solar farms. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Technically you could use them on the ground too, they just make a convenient method to build a recieving station for microwave beaming, so potentially if we ever get them working in optical ranges its just a much better solar pannel. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago Sick. Seems like something to keep an eye on permalink fedilink source parent [β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago (1 child) I think plants are pretty close? permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 child) Surprisingly not! I'd have expected photosynthesis to have similar energy efficiency to man-made solar panels, but it's actually only around 11%. I suppose since leaves have more functions than just energy generation for a plant, it's not usually an evolutionary imperative to maximise efficiency. There's probably a bit of variation between different geographic regions, I'd imagine. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago Ah, i meant the chloroplasts only. There's ongoing research to replicate the high efficiancy, something with a wavelength matching molecular "antenna". What was it, somewhere over 90%. permalink fedilink source parent [β] olafurp@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago It's also way above the limit of a regular single layer solar. I think the theoretical limit was around 30% which can only be surpassed by having multiple layers like with perovskites. permalink fedilink source parent
[β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago (2 children) It's also a physical impossibility iirc permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 4 child comments replies: [β] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 4 months ago (1 child) It depends how you're defining it. 95% of all wavelengths that hit it being converted is impossible, because solar panels only work within certain spectral ranges, but it's theoretically possible, although technically difficult, to have 95% of all relevant wavelength photons converted into electricity. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 5 points 4 months ago (1 child) For a p-n junction based cell, the theoretical maximum efficiency is about 33%. You can game this a bit using tandem cells with layers of varying bandgaps, but even as the number of layers approaches infinity the theoretical maximum only increases to about 68%. They're also not hugely practical or cheap, obviously, and in practice they barely reach above the regular limit of 33% due to engineering constraints. There are some other ways of trying to get around it, but I don't know of any that can approach 95% efficiency. Worth noting that this is staggeringly high efficiency in comparison to most other energy sources, given that at the end of the day all of them ultimately come from sunlight. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) You could potentially get up to 90% (maybe more) efficiency with an optical recetnna. Though manufacturing one is presently out of reach. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Ooh cool I hadn't heard of them! My understanding from the wiki page though is that the 90% efficiency refers to energy transfer efficiency within the microwave range, rather than the conversion rate from sunlight which is theorised to be about 70%. The stuff about generating power in space using solar cells then transferring it back to earth sounds awesome, though possibly a bit impractical compared to regular solar farms. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Technically you could use them on the ground too, they just make a convenient method to build a recieving station for microwave beaming, so potentially if we ever get them working in optical ranges its just a much better solar pannel. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago Sick. Seems like something to keep an eye on permalink fedilink source parent [β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago (1 child) I think plants are pretty close? permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 child) Surprisingly not! I'd have expected photosynthesis to have similar energy efficiency to man-made solar panels, but it's actually only around 11%. I suppose since leaves have more functions than just energy generation for a plant, it's not usually an evolutionary imperative to maximise efficiency. There's probably a bit of variation between different geographic regions, I'd imagine. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago Ah, i meant the chloroplasts only. There's ongoing research to replicate the high efficiancy, something with a wavelength matching molecular "antenna". What was it, somewhere over 90%. permalink fedilink source parent
[β] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 4 months ago (1 child) It depends how you're defining it. 95% of all wavelengths that hit it being converted is impossible, because solar panels only work within certain spectral ranges, but it's theoretically possible, although technically difficult, to have 95% of all relevant wavelength photons converted into electricity. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 5 points 4 months ago (1 child) For a p-n junction based cell, the theoretical maximum efficiency is about 33%. You can game this a bit using tandem cells with layers of varying bandgaps, but even as the number of layers approaches infinity the theoretical maximum only increases to about 68%. They're also not hugely practical or cheap, obviously, and in practice they barely reach above the regular limit of 33% due to engineering constraints. There are some other ways of trying to get around it, but I don't know of any that can approach 95% efficiency. Worth noting that this is staggeringly high efficiency in comparison to most other energy sources, given that at the end of the day all of them ultimately come from sunlight. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) You could potentially get up to 90% (maybe more) efficiency with an optical recetnna. Though manufacturing one is presently out of reach. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Ooh cool I hadn't heard of them! My understanding from the wiki page though is that the 90% efficiency refers to energy transfer efficiency within the microwave range, rather than the conversion rate from sunlight which is theorised to be about 70%. The stuff about generating power in space using solar cells then transferring it back to earth sounds awesome, though possibly a bit impractical compared to regular solar farms. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Technically you could use them on the ground too, they just make a convenient method to build a recieving station for microwave beaming, so potentially if we ever get them working in optical ranges its just a much better solar pannel. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago Sick. Seems like something to keep an eye on permalink fedilink source parent
[β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 5 points 4 months ago (1 child) For a p-n junction based cell, the theoretical maximum efficiency is about 33%. You can game this a bit using tandem cells with layers of varying bandgaps, but even as the number of layers approaches infinity the theoretical maximum only increases to about 68%. They're also not hugely practical or cheap, obviously, and in practice they barely reach above the regular limit of 33% due to engineering constraints. There are some other ways of trying to get around it, but I don't know of any that can approach 95% efficiency. Worth noting that this is staggeringly high efficiency in comparison to most other energy sources, given that at the end of the day all of them ultimately come from sunlight. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) You could potentially get up to 90% (maybe more) efficiency with an optical recetnna. Though manufacturing one is presently out of reach. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Ooh cool I hadn't heard of them! My understanding from the wiki page though is that the 90% efficiency refers to energy transfer efficiency within the microwave range, rather than the conversion rate from sunlight which is theorised to be about 70%. The stuff about generating power in space using solar cells then transferring it back to earth sounds awesome, though possibly a bit impractical compared to regular solar farms. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Technically you could use them on the ground too, they just make a convenient method to build a recieving station for microwave beaming, so potentially if we ever get them working in optical ranges its just a much better solar pannel. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago Sick. Seems like something to keep an eye on permalink fedilink source parent
[β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) You could potentially get up to 90% (maybe more) efficiency with an optical recetnna. Though manufacturing one is presently out of reach. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Ooh cool I hadn't heard of them! My understanding from the wiki page though is that the 90% efficiency refers to energy transfer efficiency within the microwave range, rather than the conversion rate from sunlight which is theorised to be about 70%. The stuff about generating power in space using solar cells then transferring it back to earth sounds awesome, though possibly a bit impractical compared to regular solar farms. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Technically you could use them on the ground too, they just make a convenient method to build a recieving station for microwave beaming, so potentially if we ever get them working in optical ranges its just a much better solar pannel. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago Sick. Seems like something to keep an eye on permalink fedilink source parent
[β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 3 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Ooh cool I hadn't heard of them! My understanding from the wiki page though is that the 90% efficiency refers to energy transfer efficiency within the microwave range, rather than the conversion rate from sunlight which is theorised to be about 70%. The stuff about generating power in space using solar cells then transferring it back to earth sounds awesome, though possibly a bit impractical compared to regular solar farms. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Technically you could use them on the ground too, they just make a convenient method to build a recieving station for microwave beaming, so potentially if we ever get them working in optical ranges its just a much better solar pannel. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago Sick. Seems like something to keep an eye on permalink fedilink source parent
[β] CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago* (1 child) Technically you could use them on the ground too, they just make a convenient method to build a recieving station for microwave beaming, so potentially if we ever get them working in optical ranges its just a much better solar pannel. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago Sick. Seems like something to keep an eye on permalink fedilink source parent
[β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago Sick. Seems like something to keep an eye on permalink fedilink source parent
[β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago (1 child) I think plants are pretty close? permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 child) Surprisingly not! I'd have expected photosynthesis to have similar energy efficiency to man-made solar panels, but it's actually only around 11%. I suppose since leaves have more functions than just energy generation for a plant, it's not usually an evolutionary imperative to maximise efficiency. There's probably a bit of variation between different geographic regions, I'd imagine. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago Ah, i meant the chloroplasts only. There's ongoing research to replicate the high efficiancy, something with a wavelength matching molecular "antenna". What was it, somewhere over 90%. permalink fedilink source parent
[β] davetortoise@reddthat.com 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 child) Surprisingly not! I'd have expected photosynthesis to have similar energy efficiency to man-made solar panels, but it's actually only around 11%. I suppose since leaves have more functions than just energy generation for a plant, it's not usually an evolutionary imperative to maximise efficiency. There's probably a bit of variation between different geographic regions, I'd imagine. permalink fedilink source parent hideshow 2 child comments replies: [β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago Ah, i meant the chloroplasts only. There's ongoing research to replicate the high efficiancy, something with a wavelength matching molecular "antenna". What was it, somewhere over 90%. permalink fedilink source parent
[β] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 point 4 months ago Ah, i meant the chloroplasts only. There's ongoing research to replicate the high efficiancy, something with a wavelength matching molecular "antenna". What was it, somewhere over 90%. permalink fedilink source parent
[β] olafurp@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago It's also way above the limit of a regular single layer solar. I think the theoretical limit was around 30% which can only be surpassed by having multiple layers like with perovskites. permalink fedilink source parent