Hybrid solar panels can make a revolution in energy

Carbon dioxide pollution with all the ensuing consequences pushes humanity to search for more environmentally friendly energy sources. Today, solar panels are increasingly being used, which, however, is not the most efficient way to generate electricity. So a large part of the generated energy is converted into heat, which goes nowhere.





The team of scientists from Saudi Arabia took up the solution of the above problem. As a result, the researchers managed not only to increase the efficiency of solar panels, but also to make them a universal tool that simultaneously generates electricity and desalinates water. As you know, in Saudi Arabia there is a problem with sources of drinking water, and almost 15% of the country's total energy is spent on desalination and purification of a vital fluid.

The essence of the invention of scientists is that a three-stage distiller was attached to the back of the photovoltaic panel, which uses the excess heat generated by the battery to produce water vapor. At the same time, thanks to the multi-stage device, the engineers managed to achieve a three times greater water yield than in the case of the previously used single-stage distillers. However, this is not all: the energy efficiency of the solar panel itself has also increased by as much as 11%.

As a result, researchers from Saudi Arabia were able to solve two burning problems at once, so to speak, by killing several birds with one stone at once.