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John O | September 2018

Lego-style solar panels turn waste heat into hot water to reduce home energy costs


By Josh Perry, Editor
[email protected]

 

Scientists at Brunel University London (U.K.) have created ready-made solar panels embedded with heat pipes that snap together easily and convert waste heat into hot water to help reduce home  energy costs.

 


Brunel researchers are creating PV solar cells with heat pipes that will remove waste heat, which can then be used to warm a building’s water. (Brunel University London)

 

According to a report from the university, the project was funded in part by Horizon 2020, the European Union’s scientific initiative that is dedicated to finding environmentally-friendly solutions to reduce the continent’s dependence on fossil fuels.

 

The solar panels include photovoltaic cells and flat heat pipes that transfer unused heat away from the surfaces. The heat pipes will cool the solar cells to improve efficiency and ensure a longer lifetime. That heat is also be used to produce a building’s hot water, reducing the amount of electricity dedicated to that task.

 

Researchers “will combine all the different technologies into a prefabricated building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) energy and thermal storage system of the future. The £260-a-square-metre panels could be used in social housing, public buildings and offices and even in developing countries and off-grid.

 

“And the prefab parts that only need snapping together on site mean buildings using PVadapt technology can go up very quickly.”

 

The solar panels are designed to snap together easily but also be connected tightly to act as a roof, rather than adding solar panels on top of the existing roofing material.

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