Solar energy is certainly not the most used in the world, but it is certainly the one that has conquered the largest number of people, both in the large metropolises of Western countries and in remote villages of continental Africa. However, current technology is still far from perfect architectural integration. It is no coincidence that the integration with buildings is at the center of the studies conducted by many of the research teams in the sector, which aim in one way or another to make walls and windows one with photovoltaic panels. The latest project in this sense is called Beehive PV and consists of a solar panel with a honeycomb surface.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
THEsolar power it is certainly not the most used in the world, but it is certainly the one that has conquered the largest number of people, both in the great metropolises of Western countries, both in remote villages ofContinental Africa. However, the current technology is still far from perfect architectural integration. It is no coincidence that the integration with buildings is at the center of the studies conducted by many of the research teams in the sector, which aim in one way or another to make walls and windows one with the photovoltaic panels. The latest project in this sense is called Beehive PV and consists of a solar panel with honeycomb surface.
The start-up, recently officially presented at the international fair in San Francisco InterSolar, is an idea of the SolarOr, a very young Israeli company (2007) founded by a group of researchers specialized in PV. The solar panel they designed is distinguished by the honeycomb texture of the solar cells, able, thanks to the hexagonal shape, to concentrate and at the same time amplify the solar radiation.
In this way, a square meter of Beehive PV is able to produce - he says Avi Sasi, chief operational officer by SolarOr - up to 140 watts of electricity, equal to an efficiency of about 14%, therefore slightly below the current standards (16-18%).
But the real news is there perfect architectural integration with the building: as can also be seen from the images, Beehive PV does not apply to stained glass windows, but it is itself a stained glass window, unable to let the 40% of the light arriving and producing a fair amount of electricity at the same time.
Many investors liked the idea, so much so that the company, after only three years of existence, has already collected 1 million dollars in financing. Avi Sasi aims to five times this figure, so as to have sufficient resources to launch SolarOr in the market. Yes, given the huge echo of the project, the goal of making people talked about has been fully achieved.
Roberto Zambon
Download the Beehive brochure
