A University of Houston (UH)
researcher has developed a nanoparticle coating for solar panels that makes it
easier to keep the panels clean, which helps maintain their efficiency and
reduces the maintenance and operations costs.
The patent-pending
coating developed by physics professor Seamus “Shay” Curran, director of UH’s
Institute for NanoEnergy, has successfully undergone testing at the Dublin
Institute for Technology and will undergo field trials being conducted by an
engineering firm in North Carolina.
Curran said the June
testing in Ireland and the field trials being done at Livingston & Haven in
Charlotte, N.C., represent significant steps forward in moving the coating and
a related technology to the marketplace. A demonstration of the coating was
conducted Friday (Aug. 10, 2012) at Livingston & Haven.
The Self-Cleaning Nano
Hydrophobic (SCNH107) layer has been licensed by C-Voltaics from UH.
C-Voltaics, a startup energy company dedicated to the generation of more
practical clean energy for use in off-grid and on-grid applications, will
oversee marketing of the coating and a Storm Cell, a transportable energy
generator with patent-pending designs and engineering aspects that was also
developed by Curran at UH.
Solar panels need to
have a clean surface to efficiently gather light from the sun, but they are
often soiled by dust, pollen, water, and other particles. Curran’s coating acts
as a barrier protection against these pollutants.
The nanothin coating
repels dust, pollen, water, and other particles without hindering the solar
panel’s ability to absorb sunlight. The coating can maintain this ideal
hydrophobic surface for years, reducing overall maintenance.
“A dirty solar panel can
reduce its power capabilities by up to 30%,” Curran says. “The coating
essentially makes the panel self-cleaning.”
While the coating is
designed for use on solar panels, Curran believes it could also have widespread
applications as an anti-corrosive coating for other materials.
UH is a shareholder in
C-Voltaics, which focuses on using technology to alleviate the significant
costs of solar energy service and maintenance, which are key issues in solar
energy generation and storage.
“This is where you see
the university transitioning a technology from the lab to the community and
making an economic impact,” Curran says.
Curran developed the
coating in conjunction with his work on building transportable, off-grid
solar-powered generator for residential and commercial use.
Curran’s development of
the storm cell system stems from his family’s experience during Hurricane Ike
in September 2008. Curran, his wife and three young sons stocked up and
hunkered down as Ike approached the Texas coast. They woke up the next morning
after the storm passed with the house intact, but powerless.
“My wife said to me, ‘How long have you been working in solar energy? The sun is shining but we
don’t have any electricity. Why don’t you build us a portable solar unit
for the next time this happens?'”
The dutiful husband did
as he was asked.
The solar-powered Storm
Cell is designed to be used much in the same way as a diesel generator, except
it’s quiet and has no emissions. It consists of a square storage trailer with
solar panels attached to retractable arms that can be manually unfurled as
needed and then stored inside the trailer.
The unit built by Curran
and his team produces two-to-five kilowatts and charges a backup battery.
That’s enough power for an air-conditioning system, some light, and a
television. But Livingston & Haven has built an even larger unit that could
fully power a 3,000-square-foot house. Curran said there also are a number of
commercial uses for the generators such as oil and gas drill sites and farms.
The generator system
will be engineered and sold by C-Voltaics and Livingston & Haven.
Source: University of Houston