Can We Optimize Solar Panels?

Photo Credit: Canva

As the global population grows and energy demands increase, there is an urgent need to address climate change and reduce carbon emissions. The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is essential to fulfilling energy needs while reducing our impact on the environment. Solar energy plays a crucial role in this transition by providing a sustainable solution, with numerous recent innovations in solar panels.

One innovation includes using perovskite solar cells over the traditional silicon solar cells. Silicon cells require a time-consuming manufacturing process under high temperature conditions, while perovskite cells are produced with simpler and less expensive techniques at room temperature, resulting in reduced energy consumption and lower carbon dioxide emissions. A team at the University of California-Santa Barbara published in 2024 that their perovskite cells have an efficiency of about 24%, allowing more electricity to be produced with fewer solar panels compared to silicon cells which are at about 18 to 20% efficiency.

Another innovation with solar panels deals with the addition of artificial ground reflectors to increase efficiency. These reflectors consist of placing white reflective surfaces directly under solar panels. A 2024 study conducted by the University of Ottawa showed that they can increase energy output by 4.5%. Reflectors are ideal for densely populated cities where space is limited because they can capture more light energy by redirecting it into panels that don’t directly face the sun. This results in more energy output. In the global transition to clean energy, these reflectors are ideal for urbanized places and geographically distinct areas that contain abundant snow or sand, such as here on Long Island.