What has YOUR solar PV system generated THIS month?

saintie1

Reflection of the sun using morrors.  I know large commercial systems use mirrors to focus the sun, now if there was a way to say direct an additional 500 watts onto your panels what would that be worth?

GaryMo

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if this was viable then there would be many domestic <4kW installations using mirrors. I just can't see how the addition of mirrors would increase the yield by 500W across the whole generation line.
They would need constant cleaning and would make your installation look ridiculous. I just can't see it to be honest nor would I personally be interested.

saintie1

As it stands there is little in the way for domestic installations (DIY at best), but if there was a simple (low cost) visually unobtrusive system available that tracked the sun as it moved reflecting the light back onto your panels would that change your mind?

IronGiant

The panels face the sun when it's at it's most powerful, so no need for much of the day there may be an issue at the beginning/end of the day, in which case I can see that fixed curved mirror(s) set up correctly could boost input.  What had you in mind?

saintie1

Without giving too much away at this point it is a small array of mirrors (3 foot dia) set on a frame which has at it's heart an intelligent motorised device.  The system mirrors the movement of the sun which focuses the sunlight on a particular spot with a maximum capacity of reflecting 500 watts.  The system is powered by the sun so there is no external power source required.

Trying to determine if it would be suitable for PV panels. Price will have to come into the equation at some point but I am trying to gauge how much this amount of additional power would mean to the average PV installation.

GaryMo

You mention 500W. At what point will it add 500W to generation?
If my 4kWp system is generating 1kW would your mirrors guarantee it'll then be generating 1.5kW?
What about when light is pretty bad, say it's generating 300W, would your mirrors boost the generation to 800W?

If I had a generation line for a full day, would your mirrors raise that line by 500W throughout the whole day?

saintie1

The use of mirrors couldn't come with a cast iron guarantee which would be the same for your PV panels.  A 4KW system does not provide max power day in day out.  The same would be said for this device.  It would focus what sun there was on any particular day, and throughout the time the sun was out, the device would focus this energy on a particular spot.  As IG mentioned the PVs should be positioned to get maximum power for the particular house, this device would ensure that the sun's focus would be maximized for a longer duration and focused on the particular point.

From my perspective I understand that PVs have a long payback period.  I was thinking that this device would shorten this, increase the available output on any particular day thus increasing payouts under FIT.

IronGiant

Something to consider, you wouldn't want the system to beam too much heat at the array.

saintie1

We are talking about Britain!

IronGiant

Solar panels in the UK can easily hit 60deg C and efficiency drops off, so you would need to ensure your focusing doesn't add to the heat in the middle of the day.