Technology

Prism Solar brings to today’s marketplace two ground-breaking technologies that improve energy production as compared to yesterday’s solar modules. These new modules both use highly efficient bifacial silicon solar cells, while Prism’s holographic modules are further enhanced with Prism’s patented holographic technology.

Highly Efficient Bifacial Solar Cells

Unlike traditional solar modules whose cells can only use the sunlight that strikes the front of the module, Prism’s new modules use highly efficient bifacial silicon solar cells that convert to energy the light that strikes both the front as well as the back of the module, leading to as much as 30% additional energy harvesting from the sun.

With all solar modules, a substantial amount of light -- scattered from clouds, the ground, surrounding buildings and rooftops -- reaches the rear side. In traditional modules, however, this additional light is a detriment -- it not only is not converted to electricity, but it also adds heat, thereby reducing the cells’ efficiency. A Prism bifacial module, in contrast, takes this additional light and converts it into electricity. The Prism solutions are especially useful when modules are mounted on a reflective background, such as a white roof or white ground surface covering.

Prism Solar modules, utilizing bifacial solar cells, are now available in two designs: 1) modules fully populated with bifacial cells; and 2) enhanced bifacial modules with holographic optical technology. The fully populated bifacial modules are frameless, with a glass-on-glass design, and produce up to 30% more energy on a per watt basis than a traditional module.

Holographic Optics

In addition to the Prism fully populated bifacial modules, Prism manufactures enhanced holographic modules that combine highly efficient bifacial cells with Prism’s patented holographic technology. These glass-on-glass holographic modules alternate strips of bifacial solar cells with parallel strips of holographic film. Where light hits the solar cells directly, it is converted to electricity as normal. Where light hits the holographic film, the hologram diffracts the light, and selects the most optimum portions of the spectrum for additional energy harvesting. The selected light is then channeled through the glass to the cells -- thanks to a natural property of the glass known as “total internal reflection” -- where the light is converted into additional energy. This selection and redirection of the optimal portion of the sunlight to bifacial solar cells generates up to 30% more kilowatt hours per watt of silicon when compared to traditional solar modules.

Like Prism’s fully populated bifacial modules, the new enhanced holographic modules also generate additional kilowatt hours per watt. However, they achieve this benefit while using substantial less silicon than is used with Prism’s fully populated bifacial modules. In addition to taking full advantage of the bifacial cell, Prism's holographic modules have a beautiful rainbow effect created by the hologram.