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Pitch

Use heat from solar cells to make electricity making the solar cell produce more watts per square foot.


Description

Summary

Solar cells lose about 10% power once they reach 113 degrees F. due to them heating up. We can water cool large areas of the solar cells underside with 80 to 90 degree F. well water. My proposal is to use the warm water that came from under the cells cooling them by conduction and have the now warm water flow over the evaporator section thus boiling the freon or ammonia which in turn cools the solar cells down and produce electrical power from the now warmer water with a closed loop Rankine Cycle turbine pictured below. Different cool well water 50 to 60 degrees F. can be used to condense the freon or ammonia in the condensing section of the Rankine Cycle turbine/generator loop.. So if we can gain the 10% back by keeping the solar cells cool and gain another 20% from the recovered heat that would make the cells 30% more efficient... A huge savings. Perhaps we can get more than 20% heat recovered in this manner. Further testing would tell the tail..


Category of the action

Mitigation - What U.S. Federal Agencies can do to mitigate climate change


What actions do you propose?

Redesign solar cells that allow water to be circulated through them on the bottom to allow for heat transfer by way of conduction...Perhaps copper coating them where that interface takes place. The governments "Climate Action Plan" would help fund the idea: http://www.whitehouse.gov/climate-change


Who will take these actions?

Businesses that want more efficient solar cells to drive down fossil fuel GHG emissions. The governments "Climate Action Plan" would help fund the idea: http://www.whitehouse.gov/climate-change


Where will these actions be taken?

Anywhere where solar cell plants already exist around the world...


How much will emissions be reduced or sequestered vs. business as usual levels?

GHG emissions can be driven down depending on how much area we cover with solar cells. Perhaps, 30% less area with the re-engineered cells....


What are other key benefits?

I study the idea daily and have found the idea can reverse many of the ill effects of climate change that fossil fuels are bringing us today such as Co2. SOX, NOX, particulate matter, smog, and so on.


What are the proposal’s costs?

Once mass produced I can't see them being more expensive than existing cells. Other costs would be the closed loop OTEC turbine/generator and auxillay systems. All that can be figured out once a few test models are built to test proof of concept...


Time line

Once a test site is built and perfected I can't see it taking more than 5 to 15 years to retrofit existing solar cells sites...


Related proposals

None that I know of except for the use of the closed loop Rankine Cycle turbine of which I have many ideas for. If interested click here on my profile page and go through them :

 

https://www.climatecolab.org/web/guest/member/-/member/userId/1005099

 

 


References

There are many ideas to use the hot water from solar cell sites but I have not seen any that make electrical power from them in this manner..