SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd
Recently, Solartech Universal made headlines as part of solar machine maker Meyer Burger's heterojunction (HJT) solar cell and SmartWire (SWT) hardware announcements. Meyer Burger announced their new hardware manufacturing lines using a Solartech Universal solar panel. The 'champion module' hit 334.9W – a 20.5% solar panel efficiency. The cells used in the panel hit as high as 24.02% – higher than JinkoSolar's 23.45% (albeit with a different cell type).
Solartech Universal says this panel should be available in 2018 as the company works through the challenges of integrating the new manufacturing hardware into the current line (see Solartech Universal panel assembly video at end of article). The specification page for the panel family is available on the website – it peaks at 330W models, and notes being available soon.
[...] Meyer Burger calls heterojunction 'the Solar Cell of the Future (pdf).' An actual heterojunction solar cell just hit 26.6% efficiency in November. Again, well beyond, Jinko's 23.45%. This greater efficiency is partially because of additional layers of solar material – amorphous silicon – that grabs a different wavelength of light to make electricity.
Source: https://electrek.co/2017/12/19/florida-company-solar-cell-of-the-future-500w-heterojunction/
(Score: 5, Informative) by NewNic on Thursday December 21 2017, @12:48AM (4 children)
Solar panels are sufficiently cheap that it is more cost effective to just install more panels rather than installing them on a solar-tracking mount.
To answer your question directly, efficiency is unaffected by their alignment with respect to the sun (mostly, there are probably second-order effects).
With a non-optimal alignment they receive less sunlight and they produce less electricity. Efficiency remains the same.
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 21 2017, @02:34AM (1 child)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday December 21 2017, @01:45PM
That's a rare case. When you're looking at TCO, the cost of purchasing, installing and maintaining a tracking mount is going to (usually) be higher than just slapping in the necessary extra fixed panels. Though, if you do put in the tracking mount, then you can optimize for temperature as well as sun-angle - for the cost of some extra sensors and software development.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by fyngyrz on Thursday December 21 2017, @10:38AM (1 child)
That assumes you have the available space. Many times that is limited. For instance, portable applications such as camping, or on top of a vehicle; or fixed applications such as a small home, or a small yard, or a balcony. In many such cases, to achieve the desired power levels, you need more efficient cells. It depends on what you're trying to power, generally speaking.
(Score: 2) by NewNic on Friday December 22 2017, @12:32AM
The increased insolation you would get from using a tracking mount in those examples is almost insignificant.
lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory