High efficiency solar systems developed

Conventional solar systems have an efficiency of only14 percent. Anna Dyson of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York has developed a system that gives combined heat and power with an efficiency of nearly 80 percent by efficiently capturing and transferring light into electricity and the solar heat into hot water. According to Anna Dyson the new system uses high-tech solar-concentrator technology and the system has stacks of pivoting lenses that senses the position of sun at any time and the modules are made to face the sun directly to focus sun rays onto high-tech solar cells. The key breakthrough is the miniaturized concentrator solar cell, which uses a lens with concentric grooves to focus collected light. Even though it is only the size of a postage stamp compared to the usual solar collector area that spans 4 x 4 feet, the cell is much more efficient in collecting and reusing solar energy. Micro channels at the base of the module transfer energy in the form of heat and light to wires contained inside. Each vertical stack of lenses rolls and tilts to track the sun. Incorporating these new cells into arrays could make solar energy an option that is competitive with other energy sources, reducing our dependency on fossil fuels. The lenses can be nestled between window panes and all of the pieces can be made of glass to lower the lighting needs of buildings, as it will provide usable light inside. It could supply as much as 50 percent of the energy needed for a building to operate. According to Anna Dyson the full-size prototype will be incorporated into a new building at The Center of Excellence in Syracuse, New York.