The vast majority of solar panels are flat, so to increase the performance solar trackers are used that following the path of the sun facilitates a greater use of solar radiation.
The new designs increase the performance of solar panels making them more efficient and suitable for mass consumption. If in 1977 a watt of solar energy cost € 71.5 ($ 76), at present the price is around 0.34 cents (0.36 cents).
One of these advances is a rotating solar cone that generates 20 times more electricity than a static flat panel with the same area of photovoltaic cells, which has been developed by the Californian company V3Solar with the collaboration of the design team of Nectar Design.
The cones of V3Solar photovoltaic cells intend to address this problem, and their current prototype has been able to generate "20 times more electricity than a static flat panel with the same area of photovoltaic cells."
The cones, one meter in diameter, have a layer of hundreds of triangular photovoltaic cells placed at a 56 degree angle, enclosed in a hermetically sealed energy concentrating lens. The photovoltaic cone rotates with the help of a small amount of its own solar energy that feeds a magnetic levitation system, designed to reduce the noise generated by the cones, as well as any type of maintenance required. The matrix of the rotating photovoltaic cell V3 can occupy a very small space, in comparison with conventional flat panels.
These cones drastically reduce the space needed to generate the same amount of energy, reducing the economic cost and needing less space to generate the same energy.
The key to this greater use of solar rays is the conical shape of its new product, called Spin Cell. The flat plates lose a lot of the received solar radiation, but thanks to their conical shape, the cells of Spin Cell can follow the sun's rays from early morning until sunset. In addition, this design solves the second major problem of the plates: overheating. To dissipate the cone rotates on its axis at high speed on a magnetic axis, cooling their faces.
A solar meter of sunlight on the surface of the Earth can produce a maximum of 1,000 watts, according to the manufacturer on his website. Therefore, a photovoltaic panel that takes advantage of 20% (the most advanced technologies barely reach 40%) can produce 200 watts of energy. SpinCell is able to break this equation, concentrating "20 times more sunlight without its cells overheating." If this figure is true, the conical plate can double the theoretical maximum received by the Earth on a sunny day: 2,000 watts.