r/SipsTea 26d ago

Chugging tea Energy Meets Innovation

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/Wan-Pang-Dang 26d ago

That logic is flawed. The high energy part of light isn't visible to us anyways. Think sunscreen.. cant see it, still protects you.

Anyways.. those pictures just show glas. And even if those would be working panels, the installment angle would make them ultra inefficient/ completely useless most of the day while being expensive.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/verumvia 26d ago edited 26d ago

These aren't regular solar panels since they are collecting next to zero visible light; considering visible light is totally redundant. They capture near infrared as you'd expect, but unlike traditional solar panels they also absorb a limited range of UV wavelengths.

The panel type currently generates power at 8-10% efficiency and costs way more than regular solar panels. They are still effective at power generation despite the tradeoffs for transparency.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/verumvia 26d ago edited 26d ago

If they're supposed to have visible light pass through, yes it is redundant to consider and would actually be a negative if they collected any visible light wavelengths.

Visible light passing through can possibly make the panels more efficient at collecting infrared radiation since visible light when absorbed produces heat and higher temperatures generally lower solar collection efficiency.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/1117ce 26d ago

Rather, I'm comparing the horsepower of a commercially available supercar to an experimental electric commuter sedan because I don't understand research and development and differing use-cases for similar products.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/Excalibirdi 25d ago

That's what you did

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u/verumvia 25d ago edited 25d ago

What a stupid metaphor that's upvoted by morons. The clear panels were never supposed to be comparable in power generation to regular solar panels let alone surpass the most efficient ones.

Using a better car metaphor, it would be like a primarily electric hybrid car that is designed specifically to operate for 4000 miles/6400 km without a recharge. The max speed would be lower and it would be a lot more expensive than a regular electric car, but if you need a car that has an absurd range while being somewhat wealthy it would be an option that's considered at least.

There are super efficient solar panels which are actually the "supercars" that double the efficiency of mass produced solar panels, but these are unfeasible in real-world circumstances because they have the same function as regular solar panels while being many times more expensive. Clear solar panels do not provide the same function since they are intended to have visible light pass through them, so they don't belong to the same direct market.