Plan for Research, Development

and manufacturing of Peltier

Enhanced Solar Energy Arrays and
exploration of its feasibility as a for
profit business

Summary
--Solar Electricity at this time in development--
It's a widely known and federally subsidized fact that Solar energy generation, or more
accurately collection, is an economically attainable form of renewable energy. Most Electric
Conglomerates also have well established guidelines and entire departments dedicated to tying
a very productive Solar power system into the grid and paying the system owner for the energy
they share on the grid. For example, in Western Kentucky our sub corporate Ellectric Company
is under the Tennesse Valley Authority, and they pay $0.029 more for power they obtain from
grid tied renewable energy than what they charge customers for energy consumption, as an
incentive to do so.The most common mainstream form of Solar energy collection for electricity is
Solar panels, which are manufactured arrays of silicon Solar cells connected together in series
to increase the voltage produced and serial groups connected in parallel to increase the amps a
target voltage is transmitted, on a thermally conductive backing, with a transparent protective
covering. Solar cells are available at an increasingly economic price, with varying watt per cell
electrical production rates. It is important to my plan to mention that Solar cells are natively less
than 30% efficient at collecting Solar Energy and producing electricity and that efficiency is
inversely related to their physical temperature. Naturally dark surfaces will get hotter in direct
sunlight and this rise in temperature decreases the amount of energy produced as well as the
lifespan of the Solar cells and the entire panel overall. Many methods exist to cool the panels
and offset these effects, however they all consume energy, effectively reducing the entire
systems overall energy output, not to mention these methods are only momentarily effective and
on a micro scale at that. I have an idea to fix many of these negative qualities, that can be
included in newly manufactured panels, but also can be configured and sold as an addon to
existing Solar Systems.

--Thermal energy conversion to electricity--

With Solar Cells collecting both electric and thermal energy, it is wasteful to allow the thermal
energy to be dissipated when it is quite possible to convert Thermal energy to electricity
passively and not only add this energy to the systems overall energy output but also, as an
effect of removing the heat, the production of each cell will be higher when measured per hour,
and they will last longer too! All of these benefits from a less than 4 inch square device called a
Peltier cell. Widely used mainstream in solid-state cooled fans and solid-state portable
refrigerators that use 12-volt DC from a vehicles electrical system, Peltier cells are made of
ceramic and can either cool or heat when connected to a supply of electricity, or convert
Thermal energy to electricity at the rate this thermal energy flows from 1 side of the cell to the
other side. Thermal energy always moves from highest to lowest, or from hottest to coldest, so it
will move faster if there is a larger difference between the temperature on the 2 sides of the
Peltier cell, resulting in a higher rate of electrical output.
The Intention
My intention is to find the most efficient method of combining these 2 technologies and
improving the efficiency of collecting Solar energy above the less than 30% currently achieved
by Solar Cells alone, and the nature of each of these technolgies compliments the other, the
waste from solar cells is fuel for peltier cells, and the effect of incorporating Peltiers is even
further a benefit for the system of solar panels. Other technologies may need to be included to
achieve the highest efficiency possible.
How this is a Plan for Business
There is a lot of research that needs to be done to find optimal operating thermal differences for
the Peltier cells as well as which model of cell will do the best, both at removing heat from the
panels as well as converting this heat to electricity. Also there are a number of methods for
conducting the heat to the side of the cell, but numbers to represent there ability to do so need
to be measured and recorded to find the best method with the goal of increasing overall energy
output of the system as much as possible. Some examples of different methods are direct
attachment, with heat sinks to cool the ambient atmosphere side for a completely passive
system limited because of the cell having such small surface area, collecting the heat with a
liquid such as water that may change state and self-circulate or if enhanced with
antifreeze/coolant, may collect more heat but would have to be circulated some how, using a
refrigerant to condense the heat, however would have to be compressed between collection and
delivery to the Peltier cell, or a technology relative new to my understanding collection of heat
by absorption, like in a natural gas or propane powered refrigerator. The latter seems the most
efficient theoretically, unlike its driving mechanism in refrigeration being a flame that requires a
flow of fuel, in my application the heat passively occurring in the panels would be its mechanism
making it truly passive.
I have this theoretical comprehension from the research i have been able to finance, and by this
i mean anything free of charge like the internet, or by examining components from devices that i
have owned that lost functionality and had to be replaced, like a plug-in cooler with a peltier
based cooling fan and a watercooler for a PC cpu, 2 window AC units and numerous vehicle AC
systems, but, like most of this, the best and most useful knowledge always arose from necessity
on a lower than low-income, if i could fix it then i would just to prevent replacing it.
To make this a business venture productive enough to be viable, a micro-detailed plan is
needed, for investor's sake, especially given my lack of a degree, it should be noted that
knowledge, or the art of obtaining it, is not imparted by a professor or absorbed by a student,
but simply acquired by 1 to whom it is desired. I am resourceful enough to research what i care
to know, and educated enough to discern the difference between what is fact and what is
opinion or fiction. I know people with doctoral degrees and 40+ yrs of experience teaching on a
subject i never even thought to research and had more thorst for knowledge than they had
answers for my query. If i could