Light Wing Solar Photovoltaic Panels

Should solar panels be based on butterfly wings?

By mimicking the structure of butterfly wings when manufacturing solar panels in the future, we can reduce the amount of rare, toxic, and costly-to-mine PV material. This can reduce the overall weight of the solar panels, which has the added benefit of diminishing the cost and energy required to make and transport the devices.

Can Black Butterfly Wings improve photovoltaics?

(Graphics: Radwanul H. Siddique, KIT/Caltech) New research focuses on the wings of the black butterfly (Pachliopta aristolochiae), which are covered by micro- and nanostructured scales that harvest sunlight over a wide spectral and angular range, to improve photovoltaics. Sunlight reflected by solar cells is lost as unused energy.

Can butterfly wing scales increase solar energy output?

Current solar concentrator technology is expensive and heavy, however. Solar concentrator prototypes lined instead with wing scales from butterflies were found to increase solar panel energy output by over 42%.

Could a butterfly make solar panels more efficient?

The wings of a butterfly have inspired a new type of solar cell that can harvest light twice as efficiently as before and could one day improve our solar panels. Solar panels are usually made of thick solar cells, and are positioned at an angle to get the most amount of light from the sun as it moves throughout the day.

Does a white butterfly mimic a Photovoltaic concentrator?

To improve both the gathering of thermal and photovoltaic energy from the sun we have examined the concept of biomimicry in white butterflies of the family Pieridae. We tested the hypothesis that the V-shaped posture of basking white butterflies mimics the V-trough concentrator which is designed to increase solar input to photovoltaic cells.

Which wings are best matched to a specific solar cell type?

To determine which wings were best matched to a specific solar cell type, we first mapped the reflectance patterns across the forewings of three common Pieris species the large white, P. brassicae, the small white, P. rapae and the green-veined white, P. napi ( Fig. 3a–c ).