Bifacial Solar Panels are CHANGING the Game! Vertical Results Part 2

Vertical Bifacial Solar Panel Performance Results Part 1: https://youtu.be/5AVO1IyfA9M
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have you done any studies with Solar Tracking panels?

A 4th grader can assemble a sun tracking panel system using two dollar store panels and two dollar store motors. Might want to look into it if you have the space for sun tracking panels.

Thanks!

Anyone get some massive output gains this spring during the solar flares? I got a peak of 1600w from a pair of 525w bi facials. Previous most i ever had was a 1200w or so peak.

should try standard panels in a vertical mount

I have one mounted on the roof of my motorhome on a bracket that allows me to tilt it up to 90°. I have been experimenting with different angles and the results are all over the place what have you guys found out

Really nice experiment, video and explinations. I've studied physics of solar cells and the output current of all solar cells is limited by the cell with the lowest current. That means even if you reflect twice the light on 70% of the panel the increase in output won't be huge. In your video we saw that especially the bottom half received a lot of reflection. Could you re-run the experiment with larger reflectors or the reflectors further away to have a more even reflection on the panel? It would be super interesting to hear about your results then. Or maybe try convex reflectors for evenness?

Let’s goooo!!!

would be interesting if you could test a fourth option. East/west orientation at 30 degrees.
But so far your test is very informative, thank you

Replace a standard 6ft wood backyard fence with these?
Good idea, or terrible? How much per foot of fence?

Vertical Bifacial is a very good idea for northern countries because also less dirt leafes snow :D

So basically for a home it would be best to have some "normal" south facing panels and some east/west facing vertical bi-directional panels. Depending on the local power contracts you would generate a lot of energy in the middle pf the day with the "cheap panels". Additionally, you would harvest the early and late sun to charge up a battery and/or to just use the sun directly when you consume the most.

Depending on each scenario, maybe something like 60% cheap normal and 40% bifacial vertical panels would be a hood mix. The difficult thing is probably to find the best solution for each home. Most people can't or don't want to place panels vertically in their garden.

Is there a shape that does the opposite of a parabola? One that reflects any angle from different locations to the same point in space? Rather than all just one angle like a parabola?

+

Could you maybe evaluate sun-tracking panels? In which cases would the energy used by the motors and the maintenance overhead be put weighed by the extra production?

Would be extra interesting to see with vertical panels mounted like those whiteboards you can flip. They could be a lot more effective than the ones you can just tilt a couple degrees.

If only something highly reflective and biodegradable would fall out of the sky when more efficiency is needed. 🤔

Erm, we can see the shadow of the panels and even his hand as he waves it about.
No way the Sun is just on the horizon! If one thing is dodgy, what parts can you trust?

It seems to me that if the solar panel is facing directly at the sun, the reflective medium for added solar should be at a both a 45 degree angle to both the sun and the solar panel.

Replace your flat reflectors. Get some roughly 4" diameter cardboard tubes, shipping tubes or Sono tubes. Glue your reflective mylar on the tubes. If you want to be really sexy just glue mylar on 1/4 the way around the tubes. Drop 12-20 tubes on each side of the solar array. If you want to be more sexy angle the tubes at about 20-25 degrees with the north side higher. To do this screw the tubes into a piece of plywood. What you're making is a fresnel mirror. It will illuminate most of the solar panel instead of just the bottom half at noon and put essentially none of it in shade in morning / evening. It's not quite as dirt cheap as your flat reflectors but had the promise of eliminating the noon dip entirely.

You're welcome.

I’m considering adding vertical panels to supplement my solar trackers. Why? Because the trackers are $450. I feel I can increase my output in the morning before the clouds roll in (this happens a lot), and in the even before the sun goes down. I’m at 46 degrees N, so we get a lot of snow. I feel vertical Bifacials will do well in this environment. Have you considered adding vertical reflectors on the north side of your array? Wouldn’t do much in the summer, but our winter sun is only about 23 degrees above the horizon. Have you looked into Spectralon paint as a reflector? It reflects 98% of light, but it does so diffusely, so you might avoid hot spots

thx

I would angle the reflector to be fully optimized for noon time, since that's where you have the most to gain. Have the reflectors large enough to fully illuminate all area of the solar panel at 45 degrees reflector tilt angle.