Have we been doing Solar wrong all along?

[Logic]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Bifacials want light from both sides.

Yep.
Judging from all the 'look at how much more power on normal old solar stands' videos there are on YouTube they do seem to do quite a lot better thx to just normally reflected light.
There's much talk about how to reflect more light onto the back in the comments, as well as videos of people arsing about with mirrors and such.
But no one, that I'm aware of, has tried the new solar reflective paint yet.
Probably because no one yet makes the new recipes. All waiting 20 years for the patents to expire as usual.

I assume the graph is of a mono and same size bi, where the bi just happens to be able to collect light from it's back side too.
So the graph's of the east side in the morning + whatever light's reflected onto the back and visa-versa in the afternoon.

[freebeard]

I could see solar reflective paint on the ground or floor, since the roof would shade things.

[Piotrsko]

Nothing in the patent process prevents you from doing a personal one off not for profit device. Cant sell it, give it away, it's for you alone. Can improve it and patent that change with enough lawyer backup.

[Logic]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I could see solar reflective paint on the ground or floor, since the roof would shade things.

The roof would be painted with solar reflective paint, with the solar mounted on the same
roof.
IIRC Solar paint in the shade works even better at reflecting light back into space, as long as its in the shade.
Then you have the reflected IR that doesn't have a clear 'view' of space hitting the both sides of the panels and IR is what panels turn into electricity.

[Logic]

Performance of solar panels covered with colour glass sheets when subjected to different irradiance values of electromagnetic spectrum

Highlights:

• Increase in the temperature of the panel is one of the major issues which affects the efficiency of the solar panel.
• The temperature of the panel (without and with transparent colour sheet placed over it) is observed for different irradiance values.
• It is observed that the temperature of the panel is minimum when Red colour sheet is used.
• Increasing the thickness of Red colour sheet has good control in reducing the operating temperature.

This is interesting as solar efficiency decreases with panel temperature.
It seems to me that red glass is more or less only letting the useful to solar wavelengths through (IR), keeping the rest of the light frequencies that normally just heat the cell off it..?

[freebeard]

I share your confusion. It's been a month and I have no idea...

Maybe I was picturing the solar panels vertical on the walls? The heat rejecting paint is diffuse so it can't focus IR on the solar panels.

Interesting about the colored glass. An opportunity to duct cooling air across the face of the cells?

[Logic]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I share your confusion. It's been a month and I have no idea...

Maybe I was picturing the solar panels vertical on the walls? The heat rejecting paint is diffuse so it can't focus IR on the solar panels.

Interesting about the colored glass. An opportunity to duct cooling air across the face of the cells?

no probs.

The surface covered in solar reflective paint will reflect more light than an untreated surface, diffuse or not, back into space or on the the panels.
Then there the fact that its reflecting IR light way better and that's what cells use.
So more 'coolth' and more power. A win-win.