A team of researchers at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore, led by Carlos Rodríguez-Gallegos, had an idea to combine two approaches to solar panels to see if they could boost the amount of energy collected. The two types – solar panels that tilt based on the sun’s position and double-sided solar panels – already exist independently, and both work better than standard solar panels. But the team speculated that double-sided solar panels that track the sun should be even better yet. And they were! They produced 35%-40% more energy and reduced the average cost of electricity for consumers by 16%.
A standard solar panel is installed with a fixed orientation and can only absorb light from the topside. Two-sided solar panels are also installed with a fixed direction, but they can absorb light from the top and rear side – meaning they also absorb energy that is reflected by the ground. As far as sun-tracking solar panels go, there are two types – single-axis and dual-axis trackers. The former tracks the sun throughout the day as it moves from east to west, while the latter also follows the sun over a year by changing position according to the day and the season.
Since the goal of solar panels is to absorb as much energy as possible, you can see why the double-sided and tilting modules work best. Single-axis double-sided panels would produce 35% more energy, and dual-axis double-sided panels 40% more, according to the team’s analysis conducted using the Earth’s Radiant Energy System instrument and global weather data from NASA’s orbiting Clouds.
Carlos Rodríguez-Gallegos said:
This means that investing in bifacial and tracking systems should be a safe bet for the foreseeable future.
And while models that combine the two technologies aren’t widely available yet for commercial use, solar experts predict that will soon change. They provide significant economic and energy advantages, saving everyone money and generating more electricity in the same amount of space. They’re the obvious choice!
Europe’s largest solar developers, Lightsource BP, already have one foot in the door since it began exclusively using bifacial solar panels after a pilot project in Northern Ireland (2018) went remarkably well. However, they don’t also track the sun.
Meanwhile, scientists are figuring out how to boost the efficiency of solar panels by getting them to absorb more a broader spectrum of light. A team of such scientists from Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology developed a nanotech film coating that improves efficiency by 10%-25% by enabling the panel to absorb infrared light as well. The film can be layered over the top of any solar cell. Imagine if the double-sided sun-tracking set up was enhanced even further by coating it with the nanotech film!
