The Latest Progress in Solar Technologies This 2022
It’s an exciting time to go for solar technologies this year following the improved efficiency and dependability of solar technologies. The world started off great with CES featuring GAF’s Timberline Solar Shingle line, the biggest challenger to Tesla’s solar roofing dominance to date. However, these updates haven’t gotten the attention the world needs to give it yet. Learn more about each of them below.
Walmarts and Other Big Retailers Likely to Go 50% Solar In The Future
The big roofs above big box retailers, such as Walmart, Amazon, and others, can generate up to 84TWh given the enormous rooftop spans. 84TWH can generate enough electricity for 10,000 houses that consume 200kWh per day, making this a great leap forward for solar energy if more big retailers adopt the system.
The solar panels of the future will be powered by AI and use machine learning to make decisions on how to maximize the efficiency of the solar power. The AI powered panels can be programmed to take different weather, time, and location factors into account in order to make the most efficient use of available power. This is what they’ve started in sub-Saharan Africa, and it might be the best way to use solar panels in the future.
When the collapse of Zimbabwe’s electricity grid on December 14 2021 plunged most of the country into a blackout, Zimbabweans feared that they would have to spend Christmas in the dark. Much to their relief, two days later, the utility company restored a major power station and announced that there would be “minimal scheduled power cuts during the festive season”.
Unfortunately, due to weak and stressed power grids, outages are common in sub-Saharan African countries. Those who can afford it tend to invest in backup systems to ensure access to electricity.
Despite their high operational and environmental costs, diesel generators have proved the most popular choice. Unfortunately, the alternative – using renewable energy sources as a backup – is often seen as unreliable, since wind and sunlight are inherently intermittent.
Yet sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions with the most solar energy generation potential in the world, thanks to its relatively low cloud cover and high sunlight intensity. That means ways to reliably harvest this free, clean solar energy to power the grid without pollution are desperately needed.
Along with engineers from Ulster University, we’ve developed an intelligent solar backup system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to support sub-Saharan Africa’s utility grids.
What we made
Our system is connected both to the grid and to a battery that can store electricity to back up the household where necessary. Since it’s designed for a region where individual electric water heaters are commonly used – in fact, they account for up to 40% of total household electricity consumption – the system also includes a solar hot water device, which uses solar radiation to directly pre-heat water without needing electricity. (Continue reading here to learn more)
If you have yet to find an excellent roofer to help with your solar panel needs in Golden, CO, you can always count on us at Roper Roofing & Solar. Contact us today to learn more about everything that we can do for you.
