Is Spherical Solar Really The Future of Energy?

Hi Guys, Ryan here! Thanks for watching, I enjoyed going down this solar lens rabbit hole and was really surprised at how some of them managed to increase solar energy production! Also, make sure to go check the awesome work from my friends at Planet Wild as they restoring our natural world: Deep sea clean-up: www.planetwild.com/ziroth/2 Resurrection of a dying forest: www.planetwild.com/ziroth/3

TL;DR: It is not. You're welcome... ;)

The problem lenses solve is to reduce the amount of solar cell surface, which is good for the budget if cost of cells is the limiting factor. However as costs keep dropping and efficiencies creep upwards, increasingly the limiting factor is surface area, which lenses do not solve. Lenses also introduce their own problems, such as that efficiency with increasing angle of incidence drops far quicker.

Here is the thing about any type of lense as far as I am aware: the solar panel needs to be smaller than the lens, which means less solar panels per area. Because all a lens does is concentrating light from a wider area to a smaller one. So how much more energy can actually be harvested from a lens + solar panel setup, vs a solar panel alone using the same area that the first setup uses?

3:46 homeboy really knows how yo use those channel locks

Absolicon had a parabolic trough with a multijunction cell at the bottom and a copper pipe heating water on the back. It was such a clean design that could be easily scaled to any size. The trough had only a single axis and one regulator could work for essentially any length. It was better than anything I've seen since.

basically: Concentrated Solar PV only has real benefit if 1) the PV panels are significantly more efficient with intense sunlight, as to offset the inefficiency of lenses. though this is very much doable, and even possible with conventional PV panels. 2) the cost saving of having less panels per square kilometer can offset the cost increase of having lenses, which can only happen if CPV fully matures and adapted. 3) we can somehow make use of the heat from the cooling of the panels without too much cost, such as a temperature sensitive stirling generator or Peltier devices (Thermoelectric semiconductors / Thermocouple) without using too much cost. the hardest of the three to solve is basically #3 but if PV panels mature enough we can completely ignore energy loss from #3 if it can compensate with higher power output per square kilometer with same cost, or similar power output per square kilometer with less cost

Thanks for another great video - loved your demo!

What a great channel to discover ! Thanks

Keep at it. Always good to see you nosing about in technology

With liquid cooling, you could even just have a convection loop instead of something pumped.

How does the lens use affect the usable lifespan of the panel?

As far as I know, and it used to definitely be true some years back, it is impossible to focus diffuse light such as light going through a cloud or heavy haze. So the lens approach can be expected to function very well in dry sunny climates such as Arizona and New Mexico but not well in eastern cloudy and hazy states. A regular solar panel not relying on lenses does function reasonably well through haze and somewhat also through thin clouds. Another technical issue that can be solved is that the focal point of the light going through a lens will change location as the sun moves. This means that maintaining the lens focus on the solar panel increases the complexity of the design and hence likely the cost for the product and its maintenance. One never knows what advances can be made these days so never say never! We do need to address these issues.

Well, I always thought about index lens focusing light into light guide made from light fiber. In house, it can help remove windows which make energy savings. And in production it could help make focused energy flow to heat up heat storage, which can be heat source for stirling, for example.

compliments for the interesting video... happy to see the Sant' Ilario solar plant of my home city, Genova.. just let me say that Solar concentration from my Uni started some years before, dated 1964 by Professor Francia Fresnel Mirror (LFC) system Best regards, Marco Fossa

Often wondered about the concepts discussed in this video.

It's in my opinion that easy efficient tech is a puzzle with rewarding solutions

Index lenses would probably work well on boats, you can make cooling loop that gets cooled down by the ocean

As other have already written: - the solar panel needs to be smaller than the lens, which means less solar panels per area - more expensive solar panels + lens and perhaps more crucial: - solar panels are much easier to clean than the jagged surface of a fernel lens, where dirt and dust will accumulate. Seem like good only in theory. In the real world we need to take into consideration practical things like unit economics, maintenance etc. This is not a great idea imo

Love seeing the speculation and inquisitiveness. I've been to hundreds of systems, the reality is cost is tantamount, and all these systems are far more expensive, materials, installation and maintenance, solar trackers fail, and sit there, a few more panels makes up the added wattage from tracking. Concentrated is a nonstarter for all the reasons you mention. the peroskovites are possible, if , if if. The real cost holdout is the battery storage, the inverters ( EG4 600xp ) and Panels have come down enormously, its the batteries and regulations / codes governments along with lack of funding is holding up much , much wider application. Theodore