Morgan Solar’s uses what it is calling a “Light-guide Solar Optic”. Rather than designs that use lenses or reflectors, Morgan solar panel concentrates sunlight 750 times onto multi-layered solar cells at the edge of the plastic. Made of acrylic, which is extremely low cost, this CSP (Concentrating Solar Power) is 100% recyclable.
Morgan Solar claims that their Sun Simba HCPV (High Concentrating Photo Voltaic) panels will cost one-quarter as much as other designs, which use lenses or reflectors to concentrate light on to photo voltaic cells.
Via Brooklyn Treeugger Matthew McDermott, we learn from an interview with Morgan Solar’s director of business development Nicolas Morgan some of the detail of the CSP system:
Two triangular optics are put together in a package about the size and shape of a CD case, each drawing light to one corner of the concentrator [...] A panel will consist of 80 to 100 of these CD-case-like arrangements [...] By guiding light to the edge – not the bottom – of a panel, the concentrator releases heat instead of trapping it and doesn't overheat.
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“Researchers at a company called Morgan Solar have developed a simple solar concentrator that promises to cut the cost of solar energy. The Light-Guide Solar Optic (LSO) consists of a specially-molded acrylic optic that traps light and guides it toward its center using total internal reflection. At the middle of the concentrator another optic made of glass receives the incoming light, amplifies it and directs it toward a small solar cell at the very center of the device. Unlike other concentrators, the light doesn’t leave the optic before striking a solar cell so there’s no air gap, and there’s no chance of fragile components being knocked out of alignment. This could significantly reduce the cost of manufacturing this type of solar cell.”
Credit: Morgan Solar
“Morgan Solar’s high-precision optic–part acrylic and part glass–is molded so that light is trapped and bounces toward its center. A secondary glass optic concentrates the light to 1,000 suns and directs it to a tiny, high-efficiency solar cell. The low-profile design promises to reduce the cost of manufacturing and transportation.”