On Oct 3, 2012, at 6:22 AM, [email protected] wrote: > I can't guess what effect the lenses would have, but I'm guessing it would be > minimal, since they only appear to cover a fraction of the total area.
Focusing the light with lenses will increase the efficiency of the PV-cell by 20 to 75 folds. So 75 fold increase in efficiency of PV-cell is by no means minimal improvement. The problem with PV-cells is that without effective cooling they will overheat in southern latitudes if they are facing midday sun directly for prolonged time ― even without lensing. And when PV-cells are overheating, it will reduce not only the efficiency, but also the lifetime of PV-cell is compromised. So lensing with conventional flat panels is pretty much out of the question, because effective cooling is too expensive to organise. However this cone architecture of solar cell does solve the cooling problem quite creative way, without increasing too much the total cost. Therefore, don't you ever use the common sense, because it is always misleading you! It is better to use scientific sense. ;-) It is interesting that the total cost of the electricity with this technology could be as low as $90 per MWh. This means that it is almost cheaper than conventional coal power. ―Jouni
