Colorful Solar Panels Pack More Punch
Are these amazing or what? These brightly colored translucent sun catchers are a giant leap forward in aesthetics. Think of the design possibilities – city and urban rooftops camouflaged with mosaic art.
When you move beyond how alluring these PV flat panels are and get down to the technical bones, they’re just as amazing as their dazzling colors. Designed to cost less, run at higher efficiency and produce power without full concentration of the sun, these gems will make it possible for people living in filtered sun areas to finally jump on board the solar bandwagon. Because it uses diffused light instead of direct sunlight, the system supplies more power and isn’t confined to rooftop installation.
The Jerusalem-based GreenSun Energy (GSE) uses a technique where they concentrate the visible and UV rays without concentrating the heat, which ultimately allows the system to run at optimum performance. Systems that concentrate heat suffer reduced performance.
GreenSun’s solar panel conversion efficiency rate will be up to 20 percent, as opposed to other panels with efficiency rates of 6 to 17 percent. And unlike traditional silicon panels, GreenSun’s panels contain only 20 percent silicon and are composed of nontoxic materials.
Let’s take a look at the stats:
Existing Systems
- Manufacturing cost per panel = $900
- Watts per day = 180
- Cost per watt = $4.54
GreenSun
- Manufacturing cost per panel = $189
- Watts per day = 200
- Cost per watt = $.94
I need to remember to invest in their stock when they go public. GreenSun will be contributing so much to the solar arena. This system doesn’t require full sunlight, has awesome artistic color options, produces more watts of energy and will be accessible to a more extensive market.
At $.94 cents per watt, you’ll be able to recoup your investment in a few years.
Resources:
http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/09/18/colored-solar-panels-dont-need-direct-sunlight/
http://www.greensun.biz/
Posted on September 22nd in Solar Products by Beth.