Related papers: Origami Inspired Solar Panel Design
Optimizing solution-processed organic solar cells is a complex task due to the vast parameter space in organic photovoltaics (OPV). Classical Edisonian or one-variable-at-a-time (OVAT) optimization approaches are laborious, time-consuming,…
Understanding the reasons of the cyclic variation of the total solar irradiance is one of the most challenging targets of modern astrophysics. These studies prove to be essential also for a more climatologic issue, associated to the global…
This study explores the use of origami composite structures as active aerodynamic control surfaces. Towards this goal, two origami concepts were designed leveraging a combination of analytical and finite element modeling, and computational…
Periodic origami patterns made with repeating unit cells of creases and panels bend and twist in complex ways. In principle, such soft modes of deformation admit a simplified asymptotic description in the limit of a large number of cells.…
Photogalvanic solar cells, the original dye based solar cell, have yet to fulfill their promise as a low fabrication cost, scalable energy conversion system. The efficient performance of photogalvanic cells relies on high dye solubility and…
Utilizing solar energy to meet space heating and domestic hot water demand is very efficient (in terms of environmental footprint as well as cost), but in order to ensure that user demand is entirely covered throughout the year needs to be…
There has been a lot of interest recently on the energy efficiency and environmental impact of wireless networks. Given that the base stations are the network elements that use most of this energy, much research has dealt with ways to…
Inspired by the allure of additive fabrication, we pose the problem of origami design from a new perspective: how can we grow a folded surface in three dimensions from a seed so that it is guaranteed to be isometric to the plane? We solve…
We propose a solar thermal energy conversion system consisting of a solar absorber, a thermoradiative cell or negative illumination photodiode, and a photovoltaic cell. Because it is a heat engine, this system can also be paired with…
Solar energy is rapidly becoming a robust renewable energy source to conventional finite resources such as fossil fuels. It is harvested using interconnected photovoltaic panels, typically built with crystalline silicon cells, i.e.…
Multi-junction photovoltaics provide a logical method of increasing the utilization of solar power for a given area. However, their current design and fabrication methods invoke numerous material and cost complexities that limit their…
A design tool was formulated for optimizing the efficiency of inorganic, thin-film, photovoltaic solar cells. The solar cell can have multiple semiconductor layers in addition to antireflection coatings, passivation layers, and buffer…
An approach using a differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm is proposed to optimize design parameters for improving the optical absorption efficiency of plasmonic solar cells (PSC). This approach is based on formulating the…
This article addresses the formulation and validation of a simple PC based software application developed for simulating commercially available solar panels. The important feature of this application is its capability to produce speedy…
Using solar power in the process industry can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make the production process more sustainable. However, the intermittent nature of solar power renders its usage challenging. Building a model to predict…
A method for optimizing a central receiver solar thermal electric power plant is studied. We parametrize the plant design as a function of eleven design variables and reduce the problem of finding optimal designs to the numerical problem of…
Polymer based organic photovoltaic (OPV) technology offers a relatively inexpensive option for solar energy conversion provided its efficiency increases beyond the current level (6-7%) along with significant improvements in operational…
There have been sustained interest in bifacial solar cell technology since 1980s, with prospects of 30-50% increase in the output power from a stand-alone single panel. Moreover, a vertical bifacial panel reduces dust accumulation and…
We consider the setting of a sensor that consists of a speed-scalable processor, a battery, and a solar cell that harvests energy from its environment at a time-invariant recharge rate. The processor must process a collection of jobs of…
Solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment is expanding rapidly, yet detailed, up-to-date information on the spatial distribution and capacity of rooftop PV remains limited. This paper presents an open, scalable framework for detecting solar panels…