The use of sunlight to make electricity is no longer a new thing. At present, the IBM company in the United States and the Air Light Energy Company have established a cooperative relationship and have recently developed a solar concentrator with the appearance of a sunflower, which can generate electricity and can also be used for drinking desalinated water. This dual-purpose device can better cope with the hot climate of water shortage.
Scientists have newly developed a solar concentrator with a shape resembling a sunflower
This sunflower shaped device is called the "High-intensity Photoelectric Thermal System (HCPVT)". Each "sunflower" is a parabolic discoidal structure consisting of 36 retractable silver-plated plastic mirrors. The mirror focuses the sun's rays on the photovoltaic chip. On the other hand, 80% of sunlight can be collected and converted into available energy.
Each chip can produce 57 watts of electricity on a sunny day, and the entire system can produce 12 kilowatts of electricity and 20 kilowatts of heat, which is enough to supply several homes.
When the chip gets hotter, scientists add a cooling liquid system through the microchannels that will carry the heat and prevent the photovoltaic panel from overheating. After a series of retrofit designs, the system can also produce fresh water.
IBM pointed out that when salt water passes through a porous thin-film distillation system, evaporation and desalination of liquids will occur. Each square meter of processing system can produce 30-40 liters of drinking water per day, which is equivalent to the average person's consumption of drinking water, and a large amount of water is installed. The disc system can provide enough water for a town.
At the same time, a large transparent housing device will protect this "sunflower" energy system, preventing birds from being burned when flying over a hot area above the system.
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