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Pilot Project of a House Covered with Red Solar Panels Launched in Germany
The main focus of solar panels is to have high efficiency in solar energy production. But that’s no longer the only important factor: since they will be placed on rooftops, it is becoming increasingly urgent that they harmonize aesthetically with the rest of the building. Therefore, in Germany, tests are being conducted with solar panels of a different visual style than we are used to.
The pioneer in this solar energy innovation was the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, which, along with module manufacturer AxSun Solar, the company INTERPANE, and the Municipality of Eppingen, developed a pilot project that utilizes a new technology to color solar panels. Named MorphoColor, this technology allows for coloring solar panels without the use of pigments or paints.
How Butterflies Influenced the Creation of New Technology for Solar Panels?
The new technology for coloring solar panels is based on the optical effect generated by blue Morpho butterflies. The wings of this insect incorporate tiny scales that specifically reflect a range of wavelengths, resulting in a bluish tone to the human eye.
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A “silent skill” is allowing Brazilians to earn up to R$ 22,000 per month without a degree and become indispensable for companies that rely on millions of data to survive.
Thus, inspired by this effect, researchers developed a new technology consisting of several elements applied to the back of the glass covering the solar panels through a vacuum process. Depending on the thin structure created, the glass can appear to be blue, green, or red.
The New Solar Panels Have an Efficiency of 90% Compared to Traditional Ones
The new coloring technology is already undergoing testing and was initially applied in green on the façade of the High-Efficiency Solar Cells Center at Fraunhofer ISE.
Now, a pilot project has been launched in the city of Eppingen, where red solar panels were installed on a historic building to create harmony with traditional roofing and reduce the visual and aesthetic impact of this application.
In total, 224 solar modules with MorphoColor coating were used on both sides of the roof of the house facing east and west. However, as a downside, the solar energy system installed with the colored coating technology offers a total power output of 66 kWp and an efficiency of 90% compared to traditional solar panels.
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