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Extending Solar Panels’ Lifespan

An important problem when it comes to solar energy is that when solar panels are kept out in the sun they operate at very high temperatures, about 60° C to 80° C. This reduces their lifespan. Watch this video to learn how a team from Cornell came up with a very low-tech and inexpensive solution to address this problem.

“It’s economical. It’s easy to put together,” said engineering major Aarav Seth ’25  . “It’s a very bootstrapped way of looking into how we can do things without overcomplicating the technology.”

Topics:
Batteries Electrification Energy Materials Power Solar Power

More From SAE Media Group

    Transcript

    00:00:04 My name is Aarav. I study material science and engineering here at Cornell. A very important problem when it comes to solar - So solar panels, when, they are kept outside in the sun, they operate at very high temperatures, about 60 to 80°C. And this is pretty bad for the panel because these high temperatures they reduce the lifetime as well as their operating efficiency. And to address this problem, we're trying to come up with a very low tech and inexpensive solution the way we're approaching this problem is by using phase-change materials

    00:00:38 which are essentially materials that melt or change phases at a certain temperature. The one we've chosen for our experiment is Globus salt or sodium sulfate decahydrate And this material is a popular supplement in animal husbandry. And it's also a byproduct of battery recycling. So it's quite circular on that front. And we're adding this to the back of our panels, and we're keeping them in the sun to see if they have any impact on the operating temperature of the panels. And we've seen some really good results.

    00:01:09 So our patches, they reduce the operating temperature of the panel by about five degrees Celsius, which can lead to about a gain in efficiency of 1.55% and an increase in lifetime by 75% in the typical summer day in Ithaca. And we've seen some really good results. And we, we hope to, improve this technology further and create a global impact and also inspire other people there to solve, engineering problems like these MacGyver style. How is Yes.