Yeah this always seems like a good idea with initial testing. But keep in mind that cell degradation increases dramatically when cell temp is increased. These panels are designed to work at the temperatures reached without reflectors. And connected to a load. Even leaving a panel out in the desert, open circuit, will be at a higher temperature than they are designed to work. Bifacial panels are actually designed to work at higher temps and having a reflector on the back is great. And you will have normal cell degradation rates. Just ensure that there is convective flow under them. Bifacial panels may have a different temperature coefficient, but they still have reduced output at higher temperatures (as do all solar cells!). So lifting them off the mounting surface at least 3 feet is recommended from most sources. I think reflectors are fantastic for mobile systems that are not outside 365 days a year, and/or if weight is an issue. You can become very creative by making lightweight reflectors. A roll up reflector and certain types of flex panels can work together in this way. Fun video! Love your content. Been watching for years.

@neb6229

2 жыл бұрын

Funny I was just thinking of the vids you did on using reflectors to get more power and then I saw your comment.

@Kaget0ra

2 жыл бұрын

Could you add some kind of radiator to the underside of the panel?

@jujuteuxOfficial

2 жыл бұрын

not only weight-wise, but it saves a lot of money making energy with them you could have solar farms that'd be 3x cheaper if you were to quadruple its energy output, as you wouldn't need as much panels to do so

@johnmorris1162

2 жыл бұрын

I guess it depends how much the reflectors reflect rather than absorb heat. If, as is suggested in the video, the type of reflectors used preferentially reflect mostly the spectrum used by the photovoltaic cells then maybe the cells wont get that much more additional heat. The reflectors would need to dissipate heat from the back of the reflector though rather than re-radiating it out at the solar panel. Perhaps that can be tested next by measuring the cell temperatures.

@AnttiVesanen

2 жыл бұрын

Like was said in the video, this could work great for places where the sun doesn't really rise much above the horizon during winter, like Canada or Finland. If the air is closer to freezing, and the power output isn't more than the panel is rated for, I'm sure the panel will be fine. I was thinking that this could also work with panels that are mounted straight up, like on top of an RV. I could just put a reflector towards south, and compensate for the bad angle. I might experiement with something like a space blanket.

I'm a electric engineering teacher. Your demonstrations, classes and explanations are one of the best lectures I ever saw. My congratulations for all your dedication. And greetings from Brazil.

@TechIngredients

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks you!

@diversitylove5460

2 жыл бұрын

@@TechIngredients I want you to quantify efficiency of expanded solar systems. To include not just power generated but power saved. Please look at low line New York experiment. If you could also consider the description and example of a modernized skyscraper, for which I emailed you. If I may zoom and discuss that would be great. Thanks for your time and consideration.

@better.better

2 жыл бұрын

You can get panels that are designed to help mitigate partial shading, but even with one of those, this demonstration would be voided, because both panels are not experiencing the same input. Without the mirrors, both panels should have the same output and with one panel being shaded there's no way they can have the same output, even if this was one of those designed for shade. I want to point out that that doesn't mean that this doesn't work just that the results are not as dramatic as what you're making them out to be because that shaded panel is seriously hampered

@benjaminsmekens2344

2 жыл бұрын

@@better.better They where aware of and fixed the shading issue. They mention it in the annotations during the video.

@robertwoodliff2536

2 жыл бұрын

@@TechIngredients.....great work., but please look at PV-T.,ie stripping the heat out of the panel..There is a very nice Turkish panel that has been made from the 70's.,pulling the heat off the back of the panel., and it can be purchased double glazed..There is a German copy..I do like your barn door approach.,as a camping.,we'll attended unit.......but as a lash down and run away.,not quite the beast..Have a look at Rosco.,makers of film gels to the film industry.,who also have a great line in mirror film on the roll.,but your item is likely to have greater longevity..

I'm always impressed when someone can speak technically and flawlessly for such a long time. I'm sure there were a few edits here and there, but the quality of the technical presentation was outstanding.

Thanks so much professor. I am learning a lot and I am 63 years old. And there are always things out there to fill up the brain with important facts. ❤❤❤

This teacher is a college professor? He knows more than anyone I've heard, he knows his tech. Excellent explanations in video on increasing efficiency in solar panels.😊

@TechIngredients

3 ай бұрын

Thanks! No, I'm not. We covered this in our first livestream.

I've tried similar methods and, yes, it works, and it works great! While the additional heat does degrade them a bit quicker, you won't notice because they will be gone on the first windy day. A similar panel, on an easel in the yard, became an airplane for a short while and made a not so graceful landing into the bed of a pickup truck two blocks over. Tethers are a good thing.

@HealthyDoubter

2 жыл бұрын

That was my initial concern. Did the wind damage or fight with his design? Apparently so. The question then is how to windproof the moving mirrors. Perhaps a stand alone green house type of structure? Perhaps a different, heavier mirror syatem? I would not know, but it is very interesting.

@firstmkb

2 жыл бұрын

Nah, you don’t need a tether, you just need some flight control software and a GPS!

@linmal2242

2 жыл бұрын

@@HealthyDoubter Perforate the reflectors!

@jasonpearson1555

2 жыл бұрын

I’ll be an airplane one day

@Shin_Lona

2 жыл бұрын

Add a turbine for a solar / wind hybrid system? 😎

Nice setup. Note that with reflectors of a similar area as the panel, the most you can increase irradiance is by 1x per reflector. This is because we're simply reflecting the rays from one adjacent area to the panel. The increase is actually less, because either the angled reflector or the panel are at an angle that is not perpendicular to the incident rays. So two reflectors at an optimal angle can give up to 3x the total output of a single panel at an optimal angle. Achieving 4x or more will require larger or more reflectors. Still, it's a good idea given that the reflectors cost and weigh less than adding another panel or getting higher efficiency panels. edit- Note the voltage at the single panel is low, about 14V. The optimal voltage probably doesn't change much with irradiance, but the optimal load does. That's what maximium power point tracking controllers take care of. In this case it's likely the panel would generate more power when presented a more optimal load.

The single axis tracking aspect of the placed mirrors (without moving the main body) is really a significant value addition to the system 👍

@JLittleBass

2 ай бұрын

Yeah, where would one get a tracking system to affix to a mirror array like that, that would get the mirrors to move and keep focusing their light on the panel as the sun moves?

EEVBlog recently showed a tiny shadow from a wire destroyed efficiency on his solar panels in Australia. In his panels, the surrounding doides get overheated, reducing efficiency and panel life. Even tiny shadows can be a disaster for solar panels.

@k20nutz

2 жыл бұрын

I ran into this issue with the AC unit on top of my RV, it didn't matter which direction the sun was in one of my solar panels was being ever so slightly shaded by the AC unit

@wez50

2 жыл бұрын

I was thinking the same thing as I was looking at the shadows off the trees on the first panel.

@ViniciusVetor

2 жыл бұрын

This shadow makes the comparation invalid. He should make a new test video.

@seekrengr751

2 жыл бұрын

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) inverters with bypass diodes can mitigate the effects of shading, by bypassing low output shaded cells. Advanced algorithms for MPPT can even respond to transient shadings such as clouds or even a high-speed event like a bird passing over a panel. These algorithms use a variety of techniques like Neural Networks (NN), Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC), and even biologically-inspired algorithms like Artificial Bee Colony (ABC), Ant-Colony Optimization (ACO), and even Flower Pollination (FP) to search for a global power maximum on the I-V curve among all cell outputs.

@jothain

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, There's actually shadow seen in the left panel which I immediately thought that are the figures completely right. *edit* oh it was already commented

Another interesting advantage of this setup is reducing the effect shadows have on solar panels (as made clear by the effect those small branches had in cutting the power output almost in half of the unmodified solar panel) because now the panel is getting light from 3 seperate directions, which will contain different shadow patterns.

@gcrady

2 жыл бұрын

Now that is a brilliant perfection of an idea ;)

@ehombane

2 жыл бұрын

Yews, he did not mentioned that. And compared apples with oranges. The both panels should have been in full sun.

@pravinsmart

11 ай бұрын

@@ehombane Watch the video again at 14:21 There's a few secs in the video where it says "2nd test" done when both the panels are under full sun without shadows.

@ehombane

11 ай бұрын

@@pravinsmart Thanks for pointing that out. I did not noticed. I use subtitles to confirm, that I hear correctly, but something is faulty here, subtitles are ridiculously off. So I ignored them, focusing on audio. Hence, I did not noticed the written notes. And what I have said it remains true. He says that panels increases the output at a rate of over six times which is not true. It is almost 4 times as second test proves. He should have corrected with text this figure too. Even more, the enhanced panels should have been placed in the shadow. Obviously, you need to enhance panels when you have poor sun conditions. Enhancing in that situation will not wear the cell too much, compared with enhanced panels in full sun. As we know, panes as every electronics depreciate in time due use, depreciation being a lot faster when the system is overexerted. So the mirrors may kill the panels in few years in a sunny location, but be a blast in a shadowed location. I have done some testes myself at window, where I have few hours of shadowed sun, with very unsatisfactory results. However, I noticed that charging my little solar radio from a LED light, is 12 times more efficient. Yep, mind boggling. More precise, a full day of exposure, gives me one hour of player use. I considered only the two hours of full sun, the rest I suppose is useless. But at LED I charged only 10 seconds, which gave one minute of player use. Repeated few times, but not extensively, so there may be some errors. However the difference is stark. So I assumed that solar panels works on a band that LEDs are providing. Now, he confirmed my hunch. SO, that coating may be a really nice find. The two mirrors should have tripled, the production, or even less, since it cannot have perfect angles to capture all reflected surfaces. So, the extra percentage may come from that filtering of the useful band. I mean it reflects the useful bands but not the useless ones, that may even do damage through extra heating. So, the idea is amazing. Too bad that is poorly presented and incompletely tested. .

I love people with a practical approach rather than bookish knowledge. Thank you Sir

@TechIngredients

22 күн бұрын

Thanks! Both are needed. The bookish knowledge is where you start, and the practical engineering is how you implement it.

Love your content! Thanks so much for doing what you do. Please continue doing these deep dives into improving practical things that we can do at home. Love the catamaran, the speaker boards, and now this solar power increase. Appreciate you!

I did this in 1991 when I was living in my RV on a couple of 35 W PV panels for electricity. I used aluminum foil-backed Styrofoam insulation sheets for the reflectors. The panels were what they referred to as 'muds' that I got second hand because they had turned brownish due to someone using reflectors on them and overheating them, causing the adhesives inside to cook. I only used the reflectors in the winter snows up in the CO mountains, so the reflectors didn't appear to do any further harm. (Power output reduced only about 1% over a year.) But they gave me substantially more power with the reflectors, about double. The foil works just fine since getting anywhere close to 100% reflected energy from 2 'wings' will cook the panels anyway, so the attenuation caused by the cheap reflectors works just fine.

@korsez

2 жыл бұрын

Do you think white color panels would help considerably or it should be somewhat shinny?

@denisse37921

2 жыл бұрын

I agree

Would love to see a long term test of this. Please set up and use two panels one standard and one with the reflectors long term and provide the data after each month. Consider adding a third to the testing with cooling to dissapate any extra heat. You make very great videos.

@nimrodquimbus912

2 жыл бұрын

They tried this in the Mojave, and ended up selling off all the panels be caused it really didn't work. Most of the panels just got cooked and failed, the blue cells turned brown. Heat is definitely the big problem, but I bet it would work in cold areas.......

@inmyopinion6836

2 жыл бұрын

YES ! A geothermal heat exchanger would work , I bet .

@grn1

2 жыл бұрын

@@nimrodquimbus912 As you said this type of setup is definitely better in colder areas. While deserts do get more light than any other (terrestrial) location they also have to deal with extreme heat and extreme cold as well as sandstorms.

@Shadowmaster625

2 жыл бұрын

In order to do a long term test, he would have to build the robotic control arms that he mentioned. They would not only need to track the sun but also would have to open up when the panel temperature gets too high, and of course close when it rains or when the sun goes down. Spending all that money, time, and resources just to capture at most 30 cents a day worth of energy doesn't seem like a wise investment (unless you're a government worker)

@urbanws1234

2 жыл бұрын

@@Shadowmaster625 it would not be so much about capturing small amounts of energy as it would be to see if doing it would actually add any benefit to the overall performance day by day week by week month by month or if what was shown in the video amounts to nothing more than a parlor trick. Lots of questions could be answered like does it degrade the panel to fast and end up costing us more in the end, Bugs and design changes to the reflection system if it works, TCO recalculated, and much more. The investment would be well worth the money if there was true benefit to be realized. Simply showing what was shown in the video is not enough to cause your average joe to spend money on a potential money pit Considering how expensive solar is. Why would anyone just tamper with a working system after watching a KZread video In order to get potentially damaging results. However with more concrete evidence the equation changes and the risk can be justified.

I'm always so amazed at how you project such an honestly deep level of understanding of all the technical things you describe. It feels like you are someone that could be questioned endlessly on a topic and all your answers would be genuine with no bull in between. Your descriptions always feel so focused in reality that creating a mental image that sticks is very easy. The math you present always seems well placed where you use it as an aid to come to a conclusion rather than a crutch to compensate for lack of a full embodied understanding.

@TechIngredients

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@occamraiser

Жыл бұрын

Yet, no understanding of the impact of a shadow on panel1

@MohamedAdel-jf4qe

Жыл бұрын

@@occamraiser it is mentioned in the video as a second test where there was a difference of about 10 watt.

@robertmoore1215

Жыл бұрын

And I myself, having no technical expertise in any of these subjects, appreciate his willingness & generosity to educate laymen & encourage a collaborative spirit. The global energy crisis we're facing (peak oil + climate change + emerging economies) is everyone's problem. Not just country bumpkins or city mice. Not just North America, but every continent everywhere. Once upon a time the American economy depended too heavily on whale oil and giving it up was needful. Seems to me this is the next generations global space race.

@johnm.4141

Жыл бұрын

@@MohamedAdel-jf4qe why not provide a time stamp so people can see for themselves. I watch the video a year ago. Don't want to have to watch it all again

Another great video. Thank you for all you provide to the community. Ive said it before, but I'll say it again, You have one of the best channels on youtube and in my opinion youve consistently held your place at the top for a very long time. I appreciate your hard work.

A new Tech Ingredients video, always endlessly entertaining and informative. Thank you guys for the great content!

Aluminized mylar film survival blankets are the lightest mirror and can be stretched taut over a wooden frame and concertinered for portability too. (These survival blankets can also make deadly effective parabolic mirrors using a large cylinder to make a drum and pulling partial vacuum - I made one 30 years ago and it was a lot of fun) Keeping the panels cool becomes a major issue - excessive heat reduces their efficiency and lifetime dramatically, so use a watercooled panel behind the solar panel to take away the heat for storage for a win-win. This is where it gets more expensive though, so the bottom line is to just add more cheap panels instead!

@boots7859

2 жыл бұрын

Those blankets degrade quite quickly outside, been there, done that.

@Jehty21

2 жыл бұрын

@@boots7859 how quickly is quickly? Slow enough for a (prolonged) camping trip?

@M3rVsT4H

2 жыл бұрын

I've gone down the mylar path, and honestly, those $45 silver coated alloy sheets sound like the way forward. Getting a result out of mylar is easy.. Getting a great result will cost more and be less resilient.

@M3rVsT4H

2 жыл бұрын

@@Jehty21 If you're thinking along the lines of boosting a portable folding panel on the trail then yes, you've got little to lose by rigging up a frame or two, you can get them very cheap.. Other than that, user mileage may vary.. It's pretty thin.

@bottlekruiser

2 жыл бұрын

wind though

You're awesome dude! So appreciate your thourough and detailed explanations and descriptions. You take on exploration that I would be reluctant to entertain myself as it wouldn't hold value unless such detail is documented. Your sourcing is exemplary and you reach to the front of the industry and technologies keeping me well informed. Presentation includes my inner layman and tickles my inner technician😁 Just freaking excellent work. I eat it up. Thank you!

Excellent content, product improvements, and presentation! Keep up the good instructional videos guys. KZread needs more like these that are worth watching and not a bunch of nonsense. Great work.

I've been using something similar for over a year now, made from 1/8" aluminum covered with a mylar emergency blanket spray glued on. It easily doubled the power output with nearly no cost (used materials on hand left over from a solar oven build)

@Darwinpasta

2 жыл бұрын

I've got a big old satellite dish laying around that I keep thinking I should cover with mylar. I haven't worked out an application for it, though, besides hanging a can of beans in the focal point and taking bets on when it explodes.

@Mr2Reviews

2 жыл бұрын

I immediately thought of using emergency blankets too for the reflector. Thumbs up.

@whatelseison8970

2 жыл бұрын

@@Darwinpasta It might be pretty difficult to get it to lay flat without creases. If it's made of metal already you could try simply stripping off the paint and polishing it. Rustoleum also makes actual "mirror" paint you could try. Sort of expensive though at close to 20 bucks a can where I live (Canada).

@Darwinpasta

2 жыл бұрын

@@whatelseison8970 Fiberglass, unfortunately. I figured the creases wouldn't matter too much if it's all reasonably flat. Hadn't thought about the paint, though.

@whatelseison8970

2 жыл бұрын

@@Darwinpasta It depends on how tight you want the focus to be but you're probably right. Only one way to find out I suppose. To stick it down for a trial run you could just spray a bit of water between the dish and the film and the surface tension will hold it down. If that goes well then you can try a nice, thin, slow curing epoxy. Generally solvent based glues can't dry through the film.

I really can't get enough of this stuff, it gives me so much hope for the future and that I can make a difference too!

i've watched several of your video's with great pleasure you are highly skilled in both voice and mannerisms along with precise science, so as to leave me with zero questions.

You are doing the projects I've always thought about and this one is at the top of my list for tinkering some day. Would be awesome to also invent a DIY sun tracking device to move the panel and incorporate the panel cooling system too to keep efficiency super high!

I've had a similar idea in mind for at least one end of my double row 15 panel system, but including a few faceted angles to reflect across the long rows of individual panels, and maybe an automated tracker to shift the angles as needed...

I truly enjoy and learn a great deal from your presentations. Go man GO you are providing a massive level of technical knowledge

An excellent demonstration! I've been thinking about using just simple one foot square mirrors grouped together as reflectors just to get light into the east side of my house from a fence that sits about 12 ft away! But the same mirrors added to panels like yours would really help with the small solar panel I have. Really incredible, the increase in voltage output, again great demonstration!

As always I thank you for the diverse range of subjects u cover. I continue to learn so much from u. Cheers & bless u.

Great idea! The and in general just great content you’re always creating! Thanks! Honestly one of my all time favorite channels

Thank you for the research. I've done thought experiments with this principal, but did not know how much improvement can be expected by using mirrors. Now I want to build some using mylar emergency blankets as mirrors.

You do a great job of demonstrating various applications. Very easy to follow. Thank you. 👍

Thanks for yet another brilliant video (content, production, style, delivery). The demonstrated reflector enhancement illustrated here is a great fit for RV and other portable applications to provide increased power/lb and also provide protection during transport.

Great outdoor setup! Very well made demonstration, great content as always!🥰

I noticed the panel on the left had shading from a tree limb, so I expect that had a negative influence on the test. I do enjoy your videos!! Keep up the good work.

@bornfree2237

Жыл бұрын

Doubtful it would change the fact it had a 5x increase.

@kiterb3527

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely right. The shading of a single cell affects the total panel performance ance

@kiterb3527

Жыл бұрын

That's the benefit of Microinverters v. Central Inverters.

@bthemedia

Жыл бұрын

This is the most important comment… comparing a panel in shade (even partial) to one in direct sun is a completely FALSE comparison. I have tested this myself and the loss of power is HUGE!

@nhilistickomrad4259

Жыл бұрын

​@@kiterb3527 micro vs string NOT central. Commercial term. Less confusing for layfolk like me.

As always, thank you for an excellent presentation. My hunger to know is always served a superb dish when I visit your channel.

Nice guys talking relaxed about new technologies really is fun. Thank you sir!

Considered such a thing at 49deg N since solar irradiance falls off dramatically in the Winter. It's not so much about overdriving the panels but collecting more of that diffuse, weak light so it performs closer to the rated values. I especially like your idea of moving the reflectors rather than the panel as a single-axis tracker approach. BTW: When you are going to start reselling some of the cool stuff you find?

Awesome proof of concept prototype. I can see you put time and thought into it along with a well thought out video. You rock, thanks Greg

@harrywalker5836

2 жыл бұрын

only good for seperate pnls,,no good if 10 or 20 on roof..

All your videos are great, I learn something every one I watch. Around 6 years ago I moved into a house that had a large shop and have worked on a solar heater and my version of a 2 stage evaporative A/C system. Both worked great in a large prototype setup. I plan on using the bio balls in the next version of my A/C system, thanks for the tip. My biggest problem comes in sizing the pumps. I think I must have slept through my fluids class. Would love pick your brain some time about my projects.

Nice work dude, I love your hands on approach

Brilliant Idea, great explanation and video! I think a temperature sensor could easily be added to ensure the panels do not overheat but I’m sure you already thought of that. Thanks for sharing, Greg

As others have said there are some details that have to be taken into consideration such as cell overheating and wind loading, but this is a great concept once those caveats are addressed.

@azteacher26

2 жыл бұрын

The tracking system needs to be addressed. If these were fixed they'd reduce morning and evening sunlight on the panel. Canceling out efficiency gains. These also force you to space your panels out a LOT more because the collectors could shade other panels. There's a lot more work that needs to go into this. For most people any type of tracking system. Even a cheap DIY one totally destroys the cost benefit ratio. It's easier to just buy more panels.

Thank you so much for your work! Your ideas tweak me to follow and use parts of your in work I am considering. Cheers to you!

I love this channel how you apply so much technology to practical uses

Thank you for getting to the point. You are one of the best lecturers I've ever had the privilege to watch.

@trupyrodice4462

Жыл бұрын

What? ... 🤔 Dude took 20 minutes to give us a

@johnpapa8681

Жыл бұрын

@@trupyrodice4462 yes, but if you try to watch videos, you know it could have taken an hour to show five minutes of content! Relatively speaking, this video wasn't too bad.

I was waiting for him to accidently light a fire behind him with that high power lens!

I enjoyed your demonstration of how to increase the solar energy. I’ve messed with this quite a bit, 10 yrs ago I used a magnifying glass on a smaller panel & it worked for a short time until it burned out that spot in the panel, then I tried mirrors & the mirrors work better, & didn’t shorten the length of the life of the panel. Although these were very small cells, all which was purchased at a dollar store. Just to see if it would work. I do like your design with it folding. I had a dream of these panels used on a huge scale,& after researching it found that in fact they are building super solar cell collectors. I am always open for learning more about solar & how to get as much power out of them, when others tell me it’s impossible in the area I live to collect enough power. I live in the Midwest. Either way, I’m very happy to have found your channel and learn more about ways to improve. Thank you!

Love the channel and the clear presentation.

Love this guy!! Thanks for all the great informational videos! Speaking of solar collection, this camera shot is overexposed. Advice: It is usually best to underexpose the shot slightly in the camera then in post (editing) push up the exposure. This avoids clipped highlights. In normal lighting/exposure conditions the increase in noise (on most modern digital cameras) is negligible.

Love this video! Very interesting to think we could potentially increase solar energy output with using less panels. But, please do a part 3 of the vanilla rum episode! I know you didn't want to get into mixing and focus on the tech, but I'm so curious it's killing me!

Fantastic video, so much great information! I noticed that during testing there was a shadow from a branch across the "control" solar panel, even small shadows can cause a huge loss of power. While I agree that the reflectors will add power, I think it's not as much as your test results showed. Another benefit of the mirrors would be a reduction of shading, they would reflect light back into the shaded spots and keep power output steady.

@puccionicolas7763

Жыл бұрын

14:20

This is awesome 😎 I'm definitely going to need this for this coming winter 🥶❄️

Also a great way to compensate the decrease of light (power) on cloudy days, with no overheating problems.

I'm a solar sales consultant working remote from Brazil. Your videos are the coolest!

Brilliant as usual! Now I’m going to rig something like that on my tiny backpacking panel. Thank you!

This was excellent. I actually watched the ad even though I could have skipped it just because i wanted to support a solid video with great information

"A course or sloppy algorithm?" No, man, it's pure corporate evil. Love your channel. Keep 'em coming! (Can I come live with you guys when the end times come? ;)

@petergoestohollywood382

2 жыл бұрын

Wouldn’t recommend. When the end times come mcmaster-carr probably doesn’t deliver supplies anymore. These guys are done for then. 😂

@AdmiralQuality

2 жыл бұрын

@@petergoestohollywood382 I'm not so sure. Super-Dad here will probably start mining his own rare earth metals at that point. ;)

that was interesting ! i use a lot of solar and batteries / inverter systems on boats. can't see making these moving parts easily anytime soon but definitely good to know the differences possible ! Good luck and keep those inventions coming !

Where have you been all my life? Thank you for your videos!

Fantastic presentation and idea !!! Thank you for sharing !!!

Very interesting mirror solution. Thanks for the full introduction on other solar types. Yes, keeping the mirror cool to reduce ohmic loss is important. Another channel demonstrated the shadow from radio antenna mast hurt his output. Might be interesting to include Before saying anything, let me check to see if you ever covered sterling engines. The heat removed from cooling a solar panel might be worth the watts. Sterling engine directly driving cooling water circulation plus a small generator while reducing ohmic losses in the cells so more watts can be removed.

Thank you for the good information. This looks like a good idea especially for someone like me from N.H.. My only negative comment about your demonstration is that the original panel was not playing with an equal amount of sun since it was obviously dealing with tree shadows. That said it was probably only a 20% reduction and the end result is still that using mirrors will improve the output significantly. Two thumbs up.

Total newbie here, and I'm blown away by this information. Thank you!

@TechIngredients

Жыл бұрын

Thanks and welcome!

Keep up the good job! Thanks for sharing and stay safe !

Thank you for this video. Would be interesting to see the effect on the thermal system. Maybe with the concentrator you could produce heat even on cloudy and cold days.

Controlling the mirrors with motor is an interesting idea. Because they are light a less complex system can be used. But that also means they might be very susceptible to strong wind.

@MuhammadHanif-bx4pb

2 жыл бұрын

I think those methods are quite cost prohibitive. Instead just rotate the panel 90° to capture the most of the sun while nullifying a mechanical actuator.

@bergonius

2 жыл бұрын

Light just means it's basically a sail. Wind stress will become a major issue

Thanks - great info - will try to set something up using this concept on the farm

You are good a person imparting your hard-work and knowledge with diligence and honestly. Jazakallah

When using mirrors, I would suggest to tackle the higher temperature problem by water cooling the panels. Basically combining pv and thermal solar. This way your panels may have a much better longevity and the overall efficiency of the area used to collect energy from the sun will be further enhanced.

@SOFISINTOWN

2 жыл бұрын

I'm thinking a 30 Watt fan in the circuit, aimed at the surface of the panel will solve the temp issue, albeit using some of the extra incoming power. A thermal sensor/switch would turn the fan on and off, to preserve energy when cooling is not needed.

Panel 1 has shadowing so it can't be used as a comparison to the panel with reflectors. Love your vids, keep them coming

@kennguyen821

3 ай бұрын

You mean it's rigged? Say it ain't so...🤣

@marchurnik

3 ай бұрын

And the angle is different . Are the electric parameters identical? The only correct measurement had been the same panel with and without mirrors. And you have to correct the angles automatically or you must have a lot of time ....

@brianknesal8839

3 ай бұрын

that is not what I am saying @@kennguyen821

Great job increasing the output of the solar panels. I plan on setting a couple of these up on permanent open mounts with a solar tracker that is controlled so that with a light sensor it will always be facing direct sunlight both horizontally and vertically.

A true teacher. Thanks a lot for this video.

Interesting vid and solar concentrators have been used in the Mojave desert for many years testing various designs. Theoretical vs practical always comes to mind and with quality solar panels being so dirt cheap approaching $.020/watt in some cases, it might be more practical to simply add more panels that can be firmly bolted down to racks for simplicity and survivability in all weather. Cheers!

I fell in love with perovskite solar cells tech quite some time ago and I am still waiting for a viable, long lasting iteration of it. When/if it finally comes, it's going to be amazing. That's why I can't wait for the next video! I want to know what you have to share with us in that regard. I think that putting perowskite film on top of a solar water heater AND adding the reflectors could end up in a mind-blowingly effective device.

@kadmow

2 жыл бұрын

Now thy are scaring the public with threats of toxic Lead (Pb) in waste Perovskite (TI check pronunciation) panels. - it could be somewhat of a concern as just like batteries solar panels to tend to be distributed and downscaled over a couple of generations - rather than replaced and recycled after first use. More likely causing problems in "terminal countries" rather than place of initial installation.

@Rychlas

2 жыл бұрын

@@kadmow Perovskite is actually the name of CaTiO₃ structure that can hold various cations inside. Newer perovskite panels that are being tested have had their Lead replaced with other elements that are not toxic.

Best channel on the tube! Thank you for your work.

Incredibly educational. Worth experimenting with.

Maybe I missed it but hybrid solar panels seem to be be something interesting to look at especially in this context due to the additional heat. They convert what electricity they can up to low double digits(whatever that currently is) and the remaining energy goes into heating water (underneath the photovoltaics) while also cooling the panels. Sounds like a perfect project for you guys.

@SupremeRuleroftheWorld

2 жыл бұрын

heating water directly is useless. you can 3~6X the energy to convert it to electricity and using a heat pump then just heating water directly

@bradley3549

2 жыл бұрын

@@SupremeRuleroftheWorld It's hardly useless. A heat pump adds a LOT of cost and complexity for that added efficiency. Heating water directly is a very simple, cheap and robust way to directly use what would otherwise be waste heat.

@SupremeRuleroftheWorld

2 жыл бұрын

@@bradley3549 its actually useless to do it "cheap". looking at the startup cost only is breathtakingly shortshighted.

@charlielarson1350

2 жыл бұрын

@@SupremeRuleroftheWorld What you missed in the original comment was 'due to the additional heat'. These solar panels aren't made to get 3x the luminosity that comes with reflectors which can damage the solar panel pretty quickly in a warm climate. You'd need to cool the panels effectively to prevent additional costs of replacing the panels much sooner than their original lifespan.

@SupremeRuleroftheWorld

2 жыл бұрын

@@charlielarson1350 as panel makers state how much energy they lose due to heat in most of their datahseets (its not much) its nothing buy economical to even consider cooling and maintaining that whole setup. just eating that little (because it is little) reduction in lifespan is FAR more economical then dicking around with a cooling setup for an entire roof for 30 years. do you know how i know that it does not make economic sense? because if it did large solar parks would be using that already.

Awesome. I was told to mount PV panels at 90° to earth's surface in the winter so snow has a great chance of falling off & the sun would also reflect off the snow to the panel. Now if there was a top mirror instead of side mirrors, & if it was wider, it wouldn't need to be adjusted as often. Maybe once a week. I'm tempted to do this mirror idea for a solar heat collector also.

@NICEFINENEWROBOT

2 жыл бұрын

Don't forget wind load. And snow on the upper reflector. Will need daily care like a rabbit hutch.

@kameljoe21

2 жыл бұрын

@@NICEFINENEWROBOT In most cases fixed panels will remove their snow pretty quick. You may have problems if you live in an area that is prone to having 1 foot of snow drop a lot and sticks around. Yet it does not take much for the air to warm up the panels and the snow to slide off.

@allesklarklaus147

2 жыл бұрын

@@kameljoe21 Usually you can heat the panels by running current through them.. making the snow disappear quite fast

@kameljoe21

2 жыл бұрын

@@allesklarklaus147 I have never heard of that. If that is true then that is how the large solar farms in northern areas might do it. Though I wonder how much energy it requires to do that and if its manual or not, an AI of some sort would have to confirm that there is snow on the panels and start the process of heating panels.

@bradley3549

2 жыл бұрын

@@kameljoe21 I don't think you need AI to know that if it's January at 1PM and your solar panels aren't producing any power that you probably have snow on them.

Incredible information. So simple and clever.

Epic Information. Love the mirrors! To be fair though, the branch shadows on panel 1 are absolutely killing it's power absorption, and wind may be a huge problem with the mirror application. Thank you for the experimentation and great ideas!

You can create 2 more reflectors top and bottom as well. You could create a flexible reflector that goes around the entire panel that you can unfold. Like those things people put under their windshields in the summer to keep their car cooler after a long day of being in the sun. Only you could unfold it and expand it to surround the whole panel.

@henryfitzgerald4965

11 ай бұрын

In a situation where the arrangement shown would overheat the solar panel, consider making the mirrors half as wide so they meet in the center when closed. This would still produce extra power and provide protection for the solar panel when closed. - If the full size mirrors boost the output to 4X, the mirrors are adding 3X to the normal output; therefore, mirrors half the size should add 1.5X to the normal output, yielding a total output 2.5X of what the the panel would produce on its own. That’s actually a better return per dollar spent on the upgrade than with full size mirrors. (You get 62.5% of the power boost of full size mirrors for only 50% of the cost.)

How about making those mirrors as vertical strips that can be rotated so they can track the sun with a computer and motor and drive belt without having to adjust the whole thing every time. Bonus: it becomes wind transparent to a high degree.

@gcrady

2 жыл бұрын

1 disadvantage is that each strip would require it's own rigid frame (more weight). If the system has a permanent location, that wouldn't be an issue, other additional base framing.

@agn855

2 жыл бұрын

@@gcrady - using a single T-beam for each strip should do the trick. Now let’s wait for the sound that 'harp' is creating under windy conditions ;o)

@paulmichaelfreedman8334

2 жыл бұрын

@@gcrady They can be built up of segments with perpendicular stabilising rods to keep them rigid.

this combined with the recent cooling solution you did would be a great thing to see tested

WOW!! Amazing. You, sir, are the embodiment of what an educator should be. Great Video. I learned so much and found it both exciting and informative. I could totally geek out and learn from you for days on end. I love how the professor provides visual analogies to explain concepts that would otherwise be difficult to grasp. i.e., the porcupine analogy to explain the perpendicular reflection of light from a concave/convex mirror and increasing/decreasing acute angles as your distance from the center increases or decreases. I can tell he has a passion for education and knowledge. I studied chemistry and biology and was lucky because I could see the electron and compounds moving and interacting in my mind. I found physics difficult because I do not naturally see tangential forces or acute perpendicular angles in my mind without much effort, like I can see the electrons moving in Organic Chem. Using those types of visual aids helps viewers of all educational backgrounds to understand immediately. It provides an understanding of complex topics, saving time for the teacher and the student to learn something new. You don't have to look up what they meant by that. If he were using the relevant scientific jargon exclusively,n it might be difficult to visualize the subject material he is trying to educate. The theoretical opening was very interesting, too; it actually gives you a good idea because if a very inexpensive solution is, say, 5-10 years out and you have a solar panel guaranteed to last 25 years, but by modifying with mirrors, you did actually decrease the life of the panel it is still within the time frame of the new tech becoming available for cheap. Also, you would pay off your system sooner and be in the green.

As other commenters have noted the left hand panel was partially shaded which would have had a drastic impact on the output. Having said that I looked at reflectors and trackers a while ago and while they do make a difference, solar panels became so cheap that it was far easier to just add extra panels equivalent to the gains from the reflector/trackers. Remember they have to be maintained so the extra effort is seldom worth it. Anyone reconsidering plans would be advised to add up the costs and extra engineering of the reflectors and/or trackers against just adding a couple of panels. Here in Australia it is now common to put say 6kW of panels on a 5kW inverter to compensate for losses from incidence angle. The inverter can usually manage the extra panels perfectly.

@ur_quainmaster7901

2 жыл бұрын

This is where I landed.... Going with used panels and an orphan (new, but no longer supported by mfg) inverter, including single axis adj. mounting with 4x6 and unistrut... I'm at $430 per kw. That is not counting the cost of the wiring I had to upgrade and the cutoff switches and such to wire everything up, or the inspection after I finished.

@kristoffervl2739

2 жыл бұрын

I have been working with solar power since 2012 and I am very much in agreement with Steven additional panels is almost always the best option and like Steven points out you can add more panels to a smaller inverter to get a higher output - yes you might lose some power in the summer but you will get it back in the winter months - I've done the calculations many many times 😁

Would be very interested in seeing a follow up on implementing the sun tracking. With a quick thought using a suitable linkage between the panels it should be possible to operate it with one linear actuator. Since they don't need to move fast using a traveling nut design should provide plenty of power even for multiple panels and be simple to build yourself.

@whirled_peas

Жыл бұрын

The linkage would need continual adjustment throughout the year I think

I love your videos, started watching yesterday. One thing I noticed that shadowing on the panel without reflectors can also be a huge factor. One thing I’ve been looking to do was roller retractable reflectors. Like A roller retractable awning upside down, so that the curvature is concave. Super durable thermal barrier material would work great.

Beautiful & elegant solution… 😎👌🏽 Congrats!!

That's an interesting concept, but i have to point out that original panel has lots of shadows on it, that will for certain decrease the power generation tremendously.

@acbattery

2 жыл бұрын

Yes thats important, i also wanted to mention that fact. Pls meassure the output from the left panel without any shdows of that tree branches or wherever they came from.

Haven't entirely finished the video yet but I'd like to throw out a design idea I'm gonna experiment with at some point that I think you have the knowledge and equipment to experiment with and could make a good run at it. How about incorporating some sort of solid state ammonia hydrogen absorption cooling into the solar concentrator design to not only wick away some of the intense heat but drive a heat to refrigeration cooling to keep the physical solar photovoltaics cool 😎 to handle more photon energy 🔋 ??? Very complex and potentially hazardous design if not engineered properly but dumping some of the concentrated heat to drive a super chilled liquid ammonia absorption cooling reaction seems a perfect way to cool 😎 panels, chips and electronics. I imagine much better than glycol radiator fan cooling... Just a thought

Thank you and well done! Regarding excessive heat potential; I also like your idea for simply boosting weak exposure. We frequently deal with poor solar conditions during our camping trips. We have an adjustable 150W rooftop panel on our tiny trailer and a 120W portable folding panel. I plan to utilize some reflective panels that we already carry with us. One is our front windshield shade. The others are reflective shades for our trailer windows. These are not ideal reflectors but they are lightweight, portable and on hand. I should have no problem clipping/positioning these for some level of improved solar exposure. If all goes well (or not so well) I may step up to something more mirror like. Either way, thank you for the idea:)

ive been here since 20k subscribers i think. One of my favorite, and most under-appreciated channels.

I love this video. It really does have practical applications, especially in colder/lower solar intensity areas. I had an idea to do some light reflection stuff with solar panels. I was thinking of finding a way to use water as a heat sync to keep the panels cool, and have warm water at the same time. I do wonder how much that bit of shade on the control panel was hurting it's output.

@SapioiT

2 жыл бұрын

I recently saw a video of a guy seeing a spike of something like 20% loss in power output simply because a thin metal pole for an antenna shaded the solar panels. The video name is "EEVblog 1426 - WOW! This Problem DROPS Solar Output by 20% !" by the channel "EEVblog" I would say that the gain in solar panel caused by the mirrors is more like 20% to 50%, depending on the circuitry of the solar panel. The biggest increase would be from lighting up with the indirect light (being reflected by the mirrors) the areas which are shaded by the direct light hitting the solar panels. But there are ways to use more mirrors to light up either a solar panel, a solar heater, or a house. You can use multiple mirrors (which can be as cheap as aluminium foil, with clingwrap (food wrap) on both sides for protection, kept fairly stretched between two poles (but not so much they rip), each at a different angle from the ones next to it, to act more like a fresnel mirror (the mirror version of the fresnel lens), and to either move that one or the solar panel into the concentrated sunlight. You can even set it up to maximize sunlight gained in the mornings and evenings, so you don't have to cool the solar panels too much, since that takes away from the energy produced, but mounting an under-volted fan or array of fans to the back of the solar panels, and maybe also using the do-it-yourself thermal paste and a copper or aluminium backing for a heatsink plate (as opposed to a heatsink with those fins) to maximize the heat transfer to the air. With water, it's a bit more difficult, because you have to use waterproof materials and electrically insulate them from the panels, so it would be less efficient than the fans, and (depending on the setup) it might need to resist both the water pressure and quick thermal expansion-contraction cycles, without losing structural integrity for quite some time.

@foxythedirtydog4494

2 жыл бұрын

The shadow made about 17w (around 40%) difference.

@foxythedirtydog4494

2 жыл бұрын

@Jim McIntosh impractical for most applications due to size, windproofing and overheating. Ground mounted systems or small portable panels are where mirrors would work best especially in cool places far away from the equator.

@foxythedirtydog4494

2 жыл бұрын

@Jim McIntosh wouldn't the cells be at very inefficient angles to the sun? /\ or is one side a mirror? I think heat pipes would be better in lower temperatures but costly. I have fancied making my own heat pipes out of copper pipes containing water in a vacuum but I am barred from fitting anything to my roof so have not tried.

@bobweiram6321

2 жыл бұрын

A mild wind will rip that panel right off the roof.

This is a great idea! I did improve on it (permanent install) at home to include a water jacket on the back side of panel for cooling (not necessary - keeping panel cooler increases lifespan) - i achieved 4x more power and temp increased only 2 degrees - a very nice trade-off.

@martinscheirich6387

2 жыл бұрын

Hi the water jacket sounds like a great addition to the reflectors.Do have a photo and more info on it and how you retrofitted it

@mordecaisackett9421

2 жыл бұрын

@@martinscheirich6387 I'm still working on it - I changed the design into a small 'misting' system which sprays water over the backside of panel - this is the way to go I think - very little cost for this setup as long as water is easily available

@hobbified

2 жыл бұрын

Screaming! Screaming for vengeance!

@martinscheirich6387

2 жыл бұрын

@@mordecaisackett9421 thanks,you don't have a photo of your stop do you?

@vlogcity1111

2 жыл бұрын

@@mordecaisackett9421 could you submerge the backside of the panel in a pool of water? Or submerge the whole panel?

this is absolutely brilliant sir love your video and the most wonderful thing is your eloquent explanation....Keep up the good work

@TechIngredients

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, we will.

Fantastic input for the solar panels!

This is a subject I have spent a lot of time thinking about. I'm curious about the temperature rise of the cells. As higher temperatures lower cell efficiency, I've always wondered about water cooling, however, I've heard that the efficiency gain is so minute that it's not worth it. But if your percentage of photons is much higher it could have more of an effect and further improve this incredible design.

@davereevs3397

2 жыл бұрын

I was wondering the same thing, I wonder if setting up a misting sprinkler would help with the extra heat?

@niki123489

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe a passive cooling with big radiator on the back of the solar panel could work good enough?

@kadmow

2 жыл бұрын

It has been done for pool heating systems - dual use of roof area, high water temperatures not desired for either part of system- "Heatseeker Dualsun" is one brand - however the per panel cost is quite high. Probably still unproven - real world - is if the panels do last longer under real conditions (due to reduced surface temperatures) - given the corrosive nature of pool water.

I would love to see how you would implement a sun tracking system. Love the videos.

@benthere8051

2 жыл бұрын

The dowel sticking out of the flat panel could form the sensor for a tracker. Photocells positioned around the base of the dowel will be shaded when it is out of alignment. A motor that will change the orientation until the cell is not shaded would be one approach. A second approach would be to store the proper setting in a controller's memory and continuously alter the angle of the mirror for its optimal setting. If you made a two-axis mechanism you could adjust for the seasonal variation as well. A simple polar mount from an old satellite antenna would be a very cheap way of implementing a single-axis controller.

@Akira-nw4jl

2 жыл бұрын

sun tracking initially seems like a great idea until you start to design it. expensive with too many parts and complicated to construct. not commercially viable but there is a simple way to track the reflectors only. first you orient the panels long ways NOT north to south as it's usually done but east to west. of coarse you slightly tilt southbound depending on your latitude and season of the year. the reflectors are then placed along the north and another on the south side of the panel. when the sun rises it will automatically reflect towards the panel all day long. but to get more coverage your reflectors should be longer than your panels due to the changing angle of the sun. all you may have to do is change the angle of the reflectors maybe twice during the year to get better reflectivity on the panels.

@peppigue

2 жыл бұрын

Why track the sun? It's path is 100% predictable.

@dennisfahey2379

2 жыл бұрын

The 3D printer market is undergoing a controller update from 8 to 32 bit. This helps a high speed/calculating device like a 3D printer BUT a dumb sun tracker does not need it. So there are a ton of 8 bit controllers out there for around $15. These have Arduino processors and a handful of stepper motor drivers as well and high current switches for heat filaments and the like. So very good for repurposing to this. To track the sun take one of the A to D convertor channels and sense brightness with a simple photo sensor in a tube. The tube makes it highly directional. The servos to tilt a big panel (properly counter balanced) are cheap enough. Need some gearing but that is what McMaster is there for. The standard issue code (Merlin) is open source on the net. Most of the necessary code is written. As noted heat is a panel's enemy. So it probably makes to sense panel heat and mitigate as well.

@firstmkb

2 жыл бұрын

@@peppigue I looked into the calculations required for another project idea, and they were quite involved. I like math, and was surprised how much went into it.

i built something similar bout 15 years ago in an octagon formation, nice video .

awesome Job! i really hope i can set up panel on my garage this summer!