Posted July 11, 2021 Water-cooled solar panels? You don't have to reinvent the wheel, such panels already exist and are called Hybrid Panels. https://www.todoensolar.com/epages/61987244.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61987244/Products/Ecovolt&Locale=en_GB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted July 11, 2021 The price per piece though, no way they perform so much better than ones without cooling... And I believe that's even more weight roof has to support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted July 11, 2021 1 minute ago, RageTester said: The price per piece though, no way they perform so much better than ones without cooling... And I believe that's even more weight roof has to support. <laughs in fully ceramic tiled roof>land You silly americanos and your chipboard roofs ... There is merit in cooling your photovoltaics. Not much, but if you're using that heat to heat your home hot water there is a lot of merit in cooling your photovolatics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted July 11, 2021 4 hours ago, Amias said: <laughs in fully ceramic tiled roof>land You silly americanos and your chipboard roofs ... There is merit in cooling your photovoltaics. Not much, but if you're using that heat to heat your home hot water there is a lot of merit in cooling your photovolatics. I am literally as far away from america as possible. Don't have a solar roof. What about winter? Water tends to freeze and expand inside tubes, am I right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted July 11, 2021 2 minutes ago, RageTester said: Water tends to freeze and expand inside tubes, am I right? a) run them on antifreeze and have a heat exchanger to the pool water (heating the pool was the idea that Linus floated in the WAN show) b) just drain the system in the fall (like you would with any outdoor piping and the pool anyways) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted July 11, 2021 3 minutes ago, Kronoton said: (heating the pool was the idea that Linus floated in the WAN show) haha. That's insane. Does he even realise how much water is in a pool? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted July 11, 2021 1 minute ago, akio123008 said: Does he even realise how much water is in a pool? He never said that it would be the only heat source.... But in the end it's a question of numbers. With the current heatwave in his region, how hot does the underside of a solar panel get without cooling? How much cooler does the water need to be to have any effect on the panel's efficiency? How big would the pump need to be? How long will it take to heat up that pool? What happens once that happens (as the pool won't cool down much in current weather)? And of course can the roof of the house support the extra weight? Is it in any way cost effective? And and and..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted July 12, 2021 Author On sunny days, performance may drop about 10%. It is not profitable to do this just to increase the amount of energy produced, but it depends on the situation and country. I've seen such a system on a summer house, where the panels produced energy and heat the water (a boiler is needed, but you don't need to wash in cold water). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted July 13, 2021 if you want to calculate the cost of any solar project or find out if the solar installer is scamming you I suggest using SAM. this is the same program many professionals use to determine if solar is a good fit for a given location. you may be able to parameterize with cooling by using a hybrid solar heating and solar electricity panel. you can also go solar electric - solar heating - solar electric - solar heating and so forth for panel layout or put solar heating panels on the side of the roof that is not facing the ideal sun location. https://sam.nrel.gov I used it in my college renewable energy class to figure out how much space would be needed to power our college. I Also used it to determine long it would take my parents to pay off if they put solar on there house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted July 13, 2021 On 7/11/2021 at 4:04 AM, Boskicom said: Water-cooled solar panels? They are not water cooled though. People use solar for more than energy production. Some solar panels are for heating water and such. These panels do both. Honestly its kinda a cool idea because you get the best of both worlds. I just want to sit back and watch the world burn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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