Eco Factor: Highly-efficient solar panels don’t need direct sun.
Already available in a variety of shapes and forms, solar panels are going to get more efficient and perhaps good-looking with a Jerusalem company called GreenSun, looking for panels that aren’t silver but come in a variety of colors.
The panels, according to the company will cost less than a dollar per watt to manufacture, and will have a conversion rate of up to 20%. While the performance of conventional solar cells deteriorates if the panels get hot, GreenSun’s solar panels are different and are based on concentrating visible and ultraviolet light without concentrating heat.
The cells carry silicon only on the outer edges, in the form of thin strips. As light falls on the glass surface it is diffused sideways to the edges, where silicon converts it into electricity. The company is claiming that the system works just as efficiently even if sunlight isn’t falling directly on the panels.
Via: CleanTechnica/NationalGeographic
