Question about Parallax solar panels

Humanoido

Do these solar panels generate any electricity from bright ambient light when the sun is behind overcast or clouds? As you know, there are always some sun rays that pass through clouds (not just IR). What is the effect of pollution on these panels?

Beau Schwabe

Humanoido,

In general you can figure about 10 to 15 percent of the Solar panels rated power under overcast conditions, but even with that there are different grades of overcast.

Amorphous cells are typically better than Crystalline cells under lower light conditions, but Amorphous cells generally have a higher internal resistance than Crystalline cells that end up balancing out this difference.

Humanoido

Beau Schwabe (Parallax) wrote: »

Humanoido, In general you can figure about 10 to 15 percent of the Solar panels rated power under overcast conditions, but even with that there are different grades of overcast. Amorphous cells are typically better than Crystalline cells under lower light conditions, but Amorphous cells generally have a higher internal resistance than Crystalline cells that end up balancing out this difference.

Thanks Beau. The idea for using larger solar cell panel arrays to gain some electricity during overcast conditions comes from a solar calculator, which although has very tiny power requirements, operates in overcast conditions.

I also have great opportunity to study these effects under polluted skies which significantly vary depending on the amount of water vapor (fog) ending up as varying degrees of smog.

Sometimes its pure chemical pollution from the manufacturing machines located south or dust/dirt and sand from the eastern deserts. Other times we get smoke drift from large garbage burning deposits locally and from rain forests. Then again it might be soot from burning coal to generate electricity or you can smell burning metal in the air.

I've turned this around from something bad to something useful. The pollution is used as astronomical polarizing, spectral, and density, filters for my solar studies. I measure the content subjectively and calculate the angle of incidence required to create specific character selection filters using the polluted lower atmosphere.

I was thinking about doing something similar for other uses, including solar panels. Many solar panels here are designed to heat water because infrared goes through clouds and pollution. They make no electricity however.

I am also interested in lofting some smaller lighter weight Parallax solar panels in my space program to enable longer robotic flights. But so far I think they could be too heavy or will break during flight take-off or landing. There could be options to remedy this.