Simple solar energy technology could change the world
July 19, 2018The SunSaluter solar panel has gone open source.
The solar energy technology behind the simple solar panel efficiency device known as the SunSaluter has been made open source so that anyone can build it. Now that it is no longer patented, the device can bring renewable energy to those who need it the most.
The SunSaluter also produces clean drinking water.
Developed by Chinese-Canadian software/mechanical engineer Eden Full Goh, the SunSaluter rotates and follows the sun throughout the day and boosts efficiency by 30%. Additionally, it produces four liters of clean drinking water daily.
The solar energy technology uses only the power of gravity and water to follow the sun throughout the day. The device was developed using inexpensive and recycled materials found across the world and is easy to put together. It is 30 times less expensive than traditional motorized solar panel rotators, is more reliable and the device itself consumes zero electricity.
The revolutionary solar energy technology produces electricity more consistently throughout the day.
Part of Full Goh’s original idea for the initial SunSaluter device was to design a solar panel that points directly at the sun at all times. This is known as solar tracking.
The solar panel she created rotates to follow the sun’s position in the sky as it changes. This means it’s not only pointing directly at the sun around midday, as is the case with most traditional non-rotating panels. Instead, the SunSaluter continues to point directly at the sun throughout the day as the sun changes position in the sky.
By reducing the cost of solar energy, the SunSaluter helps impoverished families living in rural areas to work and study for longer hours, charge cell phones and eliminate the use of kerosene gas as well as the need for batteries to store energy that is usually generated mostly around high noon.
“We’ve impacted 17,000 people so far, but I’d really like us to expand our reach,” Eden Full Goh said when she spoke at Inspirefest 2018, as reported by Silicon Rebpublic.
So far, the simple solar energy technology of the SunSaluter device is used in 19 countries, provides over 17,000 people with electricity and has avoided over 3600 tons of CO2 emissions.