Reflector Magic - Solarization Optimization

My project is designing a portable solar panel system that maximizes energy efficiency by utilizing rotating spherical shaped solar panels and aluminum foil which acts as a reflector to direct sunlight onto solar panels.
Marcel Barnia
Grade 9

Problem

The problem that my project aims to solve is limited energy efficiency and portability in existing solar panel systems. My project has a better energy efficiency than traditional solar panels, which can only capture solar energy from one side and for a limited time during the day, also, flat solar panels are fixed in place, making them unsuitable for when the angle of the sun changes. My spherical shaped solar panels incorborate rotation as well as the aluminum foil help reflects all possible light onto the solar panels, maximizing solar energy capture.

Method

The solar panels would be in a spherical shape, which would be more optimal since as the sun changes positions throughout the day, sunlight will continuously strike the sphere from all angles. To further enhance efficiency, my design incorporates rotation and reflective surfaces. The aluminum foil would reflect sunlight onto the bottom half of the sphere. This approach significantly improves solar energy capture compared to flat solar panels which are only able to capture the sunlight during the times when the sun is at its highest point. With my design, the solar panel is able to capture sunlight at all times of day with a higher efficiency rate. Changing the solar panel's shape from flat to sphere and incorporating rotation and reflectors will revolutionize the ways humans can harvest more sun energy in the hope of creating greater energy independence and a more sustainable future.

Analysis

  • Spherical with Reflectors vs Flat Panel: The three trials show that the spherical with reflectors consistently produced higher voltage, so my design optimized light collection and absorption throughout the day. The spherical with reflectors produced a range of 15% to 28% more voltage than the flat panel.
  • Spherical without Reflectors vs Spherical with Reflectors: Even though the voltage gap is smaller in this test since the spherical design improved energy absorption; however, adding reflectors to the design resulted in 9.1% to 9.5 % higher voltage than the spherical without reflectors.
  • Spherical without Reflectors vs Flat Panel: Even without reflectors, the spherical design outperformed the flat panel in energy absorption by producing 5% to 16.7% more voltage than the flat panel.

After three different tests with three trials for each test, my data shows that the the spherical with reflectors had the highest performance. The impact of the reflectors is equally important to switching the shape of the solar panels from flat to spherical, which means reflecting and redirecting sunlight is crucial in increasing solar efficiency.

Conclusion

In this project, my scientific question was “ How using a rotating spherical design along with reflectors might improve solar panel performance by capturing sunlight more effectively? I asked this question because I realized that flat solar panels are still considered inefficient because they do not maximize the amount of solar energy captured, also they do not have the capacity to support an entire city solely. Recognizing the need for a more efficient approach, I came up with a revolutionary design, a rotating spherical shaped solar panels, I also incorporated sunlight reflectors to maximize energy efficiency, by increasing the amount of sunlight captured from various angles and throughout the day. The goal of my project is to investigate whether this unconventional method could offer a practical solution to the limitations of flat solar panels, and contribute to the development of more reliable and efficient solar energy harvest techniques. My hypothesis was “ If a portable solar panel system is designed in a rotating spherical shape, along with strategically placed reflectors to reflect sunlight onto all surfaces, then the system will generate more electrical energy than traditional, flat solar panels because the reflectors will increase the amount of sunlight captured from various angles and throughout the day. 

To test my hypothesis, I built a prototype from everyday materials, then I ran three different tests with three trials each for more accurate results. All trials showed promising results for my design, where the spherical shaped solar panels in addition to reflection and rotation improved efficiency by a range of 25% to 27% from traditional flat solar panels.

My project demonstrates an innovative and cost effective method to improve solar panel efficiency. The experiment proves energy gains through real world testing of battery charge levels. My project will revolutionize the solar energy industry in both small portable designs as well as a larger scale for residential and solar power farms.

In conclusion, changing the solar panel's shape from flat to sphere and incorporating reflectors and rotation will revolutionize the ways humans can harvest more sun energy in the hope of creating greater energy independence and a more sustainable future

Citations

Acknowledgement

Zainab Soliman

Dr. Garcia

Mr. Ziemmer

Ali Shahbazi