PV Gap

Harvey Said:

Is there a limitation of power receive per square meter of solar cell?

We Answered:

There are two limits that I know of. The sun only puts out so much energy per square meter. So if you depend on the sun shining on the solar collector directly, there the limit called the solar constant (see ref 1). It is measured by satellite to be roughly 1366 watts per square meter. It reduces when received through the atmosphere.

If you use mirrors to shine on the solar panel, you can now have an enormous amount of sunlight (in theory anyway) on the solar panel. Now you need to worry about things like current level, resistance, and dissipating the heat that will accompany that amount of sunlight. But you can significantly increase the amount of power that comes from a solar panel by increasing the light collection area. The amount you can do this depends on how the panel was designed.

Mathew Said:

could you increase the power of a solar cell if?

We Answered:

increase voltage, no since you're just focusing the original light...

increase power, yes up to a point but it depends on the cell, its wiring and how you do the magnifying... you could end up making it a lot worse if you end up shading part of the cell