Let nothing lure us away from the basics, Mechanics. There is no substance which can increase the amount of incident sunshine which falls upon the surface of a solar module. (For the moment let us assume that the anti-reflective characteristics of a major brand PV module cannot be improved upon, because from Peter's description it appears that the Genie Lens does not claim to work in that way.)<div>
<br></div><div>If only X number of incident watts are arriving, any concentrator type lens can only move around the energy which is arriving. Therefore, increased brightness on one part of the substrate would come at the expense of reduced brightness on another part of the substrate. That may be fine if the "light-starved" parts of the substrate are non-valuable/non-electrically active...as in the case of a true concentrator module where the cells are small & positioned to receive the concentrated light beams. </div>
<div><br></div><div>In this described retrofit situation, however, the net energy gain may be less than zero. One must also hesitate to unevenly heat a conventional solar laminate. Film longevity issues aside, this Genie Lens sounds suspiciously like the mythical "free lunch".</div>
<div><br></div><div>Jolliness, </div><div><br clear="all">Mick Abraham, Proprietor<br><a href="http://www.abrahamsolar.com">www.abrahamsolar.com</a><br><br>Voice: 970-731-4675<br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Aug 12, 2010 at 10:47 AM, Dana <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dana@solarwork.com">dana@solarwork.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
Hey there Peter,<br>
<br>
In that I owned the largest [2-3 person] window tinting<br>
company in <a href="http://N.AZ" target="_blank">N.AZ</a> almost 30 years ago, I feel qualified to<br>
enter a comment here.<br>
<br>
The bubbled film is a direct result of not enough or<br>
possibly no UV blockers in the adhesive for window films.<br>
The bubbling is a direct result of adhesive failure.<br>
<br>
There are many excellent manufacturers out there that<br>
produce an excellent film product with proper UV block in<br>
the adhesive that easily last the life of the car or film.<br>
<br>
When buying a film application product you want to go for a<br>
no-questions asked Factory Lifetime warranty from a<br>
reputable and financially secure manufacturer.<br>
<br>
However, my question for this application, would be will it<br>
last the 25+ year life of a PV module?<br>
<br>
Thanks, Dana Orzel<br>
<br>
Great Solar Works, Inc<br>
E - <a href="mailto:dana@solarwork.com">dana@solarwork.com</a><br>
V - 970.626.5253<br>
F - 970.626.4140<br>
C - 970.209.4076<br>
web - <a href="http://www.solarwork.com" target="_blank">www.solarwork.com</a><br>
<br>
"Responsible Technologies for Responsible People since 1988"<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: <a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a><br>
[mailto:<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>] On Behalf<br>
Of Peter Parrish<br>
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2010 10:17 AM<br>
To: 'RE-wrenches'<br>
Subject: [RE-wrenches] The Genie Lens<br>
<br>
Anybody know anything about these claims?<br>
<br>
SolOptics, the solar division of Genie Lens, has created a<br>
new lens design<br>
that improves solar PV performance by 12.5 percent. The new<br>
thin-film design<br>
can be applied to any PV module, just like a sticker. The<br>
new design is<br>
created by the company's ray tracing software that embosses<br>
microstructures<br>
onto thin polymer film. That film can then be applied to<br>
solar panels much<br>
like tinting film can be applied to a window. In testing,<br>
the<br>
microstructures in the lens improved PV efficiency by 10 to<br>
12.5 percent.<br>
<br>
I think the claim of a "lens" is complete hogwash. As for<br>
being an<br>
anti-reflective coating, that might work, but reliability<br>
would be my<br>
concern (UV, heat, moisture). Think how many tinted car<br>
windows you have<br>
seen with blisters all over them?<br>
<br>
I am posting this for a client who is a really dedicated<br>
solar enthusiast<br>
and occasionally emails me with questions about solar<br>
technology.<br>
<br>
- Peter<br>
<br>
Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President<br>
California Solar Engineering, Inc.<br>
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065<br>
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26<br>
<a href="mailto:peter.parrish@calsolareng.com">peter.parrish@calsolareng.com</a><br>
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885<br>
<br>
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