Solar butterfly thermal power generation

Do butterfly wings increase solar power?

Here, we show that the attachment of butterfly wings to a solar cell increases its output power by 42.3%, proving that the wings are indeed highly reflective. Importantly and relative to current concentrators, the wings improve the power to weight ratio of the overall structure 17-fold, vastly expanding their potential application.

Can a large white butterfly increase power output from a solar cell?

Using the wings of the large white butterfly to increase power output from a solar cell. The highest reflectance came from the forewings of the large white butterfly and this reflectance was also well matched to the input requirements of a mono-crystalline silicon cell (average of 78.9% reflectance over 400–950 nm range, Fig. 3a).

Can biomimicry improve photovoltaic energy harvesting in white butterflies?

Man’s harvesting of photovoltaic energy requires the deployment of extensive arrays of solar panels. To improve both the gathering of thermal and photovoltaic energy from the sun we have examined the concept of biomimicry in white butterflies of the family Pieridae.

What is a butterfly solar concentrator?

The V-shaped design of the butterfly is therefore strikingly similar to the V-trough solar concentrator which uses mirrored side walls to focus light towards a small area of photovoltaic material 3, 26 ( Fig. 1d) thereby increasing the output power of any solar cell to which it is attached 4, 27. White butterflies as solar concentrators.

Does a white butterfly mimic a Photovoltaic concentrator?

To improve both the gathering of thermal and photovoltaic energy from the sun we have examined the concept of biomimicry in white butterflies of the family Pieridae. We tested the hypothesis that the V-shaped posture of basking white butterflies mimics the V-trough concentrator which is designed to increase solar input to photovoltaic cells.

Do butterfly wings have a concentrating effect?

In terms of increased solar input (solar concentration) this works out as a concentrating effect of 1.3x, compared to the 2x concentration achieved by the reflective film. However in terms of weight, the butterfly wings have 17x the power to weight ratio of the reflective film structure.