Solar energy is clean and renewable, still we don’t use it. The reason is that the conventional solar panels require expensive photovoltaic material. The more the material is used the expensive the panels get. A company named Solient Energy has developed a new type of solar panels knows as the Heliotube Panel.
This panel makes use of solar concentrators or mirrors that scan the sky and move the panel in the most profitable direction, depending of course on where the sun is. This technique means that the overall requirement of photovoltaic material is reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the panel by up to half and produce electricity at a cheaper cost than the electric grid in most markets.
Concentrating sunlight on the panels is not uncommon. This technique is used in many areas, the only disadvantage it had was the use of motors and scanners that scanned the sky and turned the panel in the best area. This technique was good for large-scale production of solar energy, however, since the whole mechanism got heavy and big it could not be installed onto rooftops. This is where Solient Energy has done the best. Their solar concentrator tracks the sun throughout the day but is lighter and not pole-mounted. The system fits in a rectangular frame and can be mounted onto rooftops with the same hardware as is used in installing other conventional solar panels.
The company is aiming to better this design making it even lighter, cheaper and efficient. This design should be out by 2010, while the first generation Heliotube should be out later this year.
Via: Trend Hunter
