[Music] foreign s that will take solar energy to a new level the solar energy Revolution is happening right before our eyes the successful transmission of solar energy from space to Earth is demonstrating new possibilities for the use of solar power the world's first train powered by solar panels has been created in this video we will discuss this and many other exciting advancements in solar energy including a new contactless method for cleaning solar panels that could increase the efficiency of solar energy use in homes and buildings [Music] dust removal from solar panels without water dust bird droppings chemicals and organic matter reduce the amount of light that reaches the solar cell on average the efficiency of a dirty solar panel is reduced by 20 to 25 percent and in some cases by half typically solar modules are cleaned by mechanically brushing and using a lot of water this method is expensive and inaccessible in areas where there is a lack of Clean Water Resources for this reason researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a technology that cleans without water and without contact with the surface of the panel an electrode is used which moves along guide rails using an electric Drve the electrode moves as close as possible to the surface of the solar module and electrifies the layer of dust particles with similar charges bounce off the surface of the module when it gets a charge of the same sign the process is fully automated and occurs without human intervention [Music] perovskite PV Solar Energy Technologies are reaching a completely new level salt Technologies has announced that their perovskite PV has achieved an incredible 31 efficiency which is a very high result for this type of solar cell perovskite solar panels are a new type of solar cell that is produced on an ultra thin plastic substrate using inkjet printing at the same output pscs are significantly thinner than silicon photovoltaic cells and the spectrum of light they absorb is wider the cost of one watt of perovskite power is five to seven times lower than that of silicon in addition they can be made with relatively inexpensive and easily accessible materials which can reduce production costs thanks to their flexibility perovskite solar panels can be used in wearable devices clothing cars and can be installed on curved surfaces such as roofs and building walls allowing for maximum use of solar energy perovskite solar panels have recently found new users such as curtains polish company zopka and salt technologies have gone even further to install new Dynamic pricing tags based on perovsky technology in their stores which allows prices to be simultaneously changed across the entire retail Network and automatically reduce the price of products that are approaching their expiration date [Music] Prem NRL space Soler how to overcome the limitations of solar energy on Earth what if we could place solar panels in space and transmit energy to Earth it sounds like science fiction but such work is already underway the space solar project of the U. S naval research laboratory is testing the ability to generate and convert energy on space satellites a prototype of a space-based power station the photovoltaic radio frequency antenna module Prem has been tested in low earth orbit as part of the experiment successful testing of transmitting equipment was conducted which converted solar energy through solar panels mounted on the satellite and successfully directed electricity in the form of microwave beams to Earth the success of this experiment gives hope that in the near future we will have a clean energy source available 24 7. Soul share have you ever thought about the unused potential of many apartment building roofs this space can be used in various ways but the company's sole share presents the most efficient method they have installed solar panels on the roof of a 24 apartment building in Wales as part of a pilot project funded by the County Government Soul share is a set of panels inverters and batteries that convert energy from solar panels into AC power the social meaning of the project is to distribute the electricity generated by the solar installation fairly among the building's tenants none of the 24 tenants had to pay a penny for the expensive equipment now solar kilowatts covers between 55 and 75 of the building's electricity needs and each apartment pays half as much soulshare is not the first solar project for Australian company Alum energy the challenge for the company's Engineers was to find a solution for optimizing energy distribution between apartments no one in the world had done this before illume energy beta.
e [Music] without being limited to established approaches a true scientist can develop more economical and environmentally friendly Technologies for example finding a way to capture more solar energy without increasing the surface area of solar panels inventor Andre bracell set out to collect the maximum amount of energy from both solar and even lunar light the result of his work is the transparent sphere beta a which like a lens focuses the solar flux on a photovoltaic cell due to the dense and stable flow of light the small sized solar module delivers power comparable to that of a large battery to catch the brightest rays in work in low-light conditions beta a features a motorized Sun tracking system the electric motor rotates the photovoltaic cell block on two axes and the solar module is precisely positioned on the sun with the help of cameras the sphere can be used like conventional solar panels to increase a building's energy consumption and potentially as a charging station for electric vehicles another interesting proposal is to use this technology as window-like devices that collect solar energy although it may take some time to get used to the inverted view of the outside world [Music] light year zero the team from the Eindhoven University of Technology has won the world solar challenge a race for solar powered cars four times in a row when the team leader Lex hoofsloot founded the company light year in 2016. no one doubted that they would create the world's best solar car and put it into mass production the company's first model was the light year one which was produced in a limited edition of 100 cars however the Pinnacle of technical Excellence became the zero model the light year zero solar sedan features a lightweight and spacious body with a volume of 474 liters and four in-wheel Motors the onboard battery provides a range of 185 miles without charging the main feature of the light year zero is the solar roof made of flexible film-based photovoltaic cells with a total area of 5 square meters according to Lightyear's calculations the car can travel up to 11 000 kilometers per year using only free solar energy while this figure may not seem significant we may be able to drive much farther on solar power in the future as solar panel technology continues to improve foreign [Music] how about solar powered trains we've heard of cars and planes running on solar energy but what about trains a group of enthusiasts from Byron Shire Australia converted a regular two-carriage train to run on electric power and solar energy it's a great example of how to use resources efficiently volunteers led by experienced Engineers restored a retro 1949 train after years of sitting idle in a train graveyard the train is now back in service transporting over 100 000 passengers per year the train has a second life as the world's first ecologically clean train two electric motors are powered by solar energy from 6.
