AGILE, a revolutionary photoconcentrator with the ability to triple the light reaching solar panels, even on cloudy days.
AGILE, pyramid-shaped solar concentrator
The researchers imagined and developed a device consisting of several lenses to more effectively collect sunlight from all angles, and focus it at a specific position towards the solar panels, allowing for the following:
- Make solar panels more efficient
- Increased cost of solar panels
- Making solar panel production more complicated
- Increased maintenance costs for this new solar panel system (when compared to a traditional solar panel system)
This condenser will be able to effectively collect and focus sunlight, regardless of the angle and frequency of the light. It would be a completely passive system, it wouldn’t need power to follow the light source, nor would it have any moving parts.
AGILE (axially graduated index lens)
Obviously, AGILE is a simple device. It is like an inverted pyramid with a sharp end, where the light enters the top (in the form of a square), from any angle and then goes down (forming a brighter exit point).
In early prototypes, they were able to capture more than 90% of the light falling on the device and create exit points three times brighter than the incident light.
It is expected that when placed on a solar panel, AGILE will make solar arrays more efficient, capturing not only direct light, but also diffused light present in the environment.
When choosing AGILE as a solar panel top cover, the existing coating will be unnecessary, eliminating the need for solar tracking, creating space for solar panel cooling, connecting circuits between pyramids of individual capacitors, and most importantly, reducing the amount of solar cells needed to generate power.
All this leads to lower cost!
Simple ideas turn out to be the best solutions
The premise behind AGILE is to perform a process similar to that of a magnifying glass, focusing the sun’s rays into a smaller, brighter point. Except that the focal point of the magnifying glass moves like the sun.
In the case of this AGILE concentrator, the researchers were able to create a lens that captures sunlight from all angles, focusing it at the same starting point.
In the initial prototypes, the researchers used different layers of glass and polymers to scatter light to varying degrees, creating what’s known as a “gradient indicator material.” These layers direct the light in stages rather than in a smooth curve, which the researchers say is ideal for AGILE. The sides of the prototypes are reversed, causing any sunbeams to be skewed in the wrong direction toward the exit position.
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AGILE – Challenges in its development
One of the biggest challenges was finding the right materials to produce it.
The current layers of the prototype allow a wide spectrum of light to pass through, from near ultraviolet to infrared, and increasingly shift this light towards a director with a wide range of refractive indices, something that cannot be seen either in nature or in nature. the optical industry today.
The materials used must also be compatible with each other, if a crystal expands in response to heat at a different rate than the other material, the device may be damaged, plus it must be strong enough to be able to be used. Molded to your shape and at the same time durable.
Careful selection of materials plays a critical role in the safety and longevity of AGILE, ensuring that the equipment operates efficiently and reliably.
Video – AGILE Optical Intensifier for Solar Panels
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