Hybrid Solar Panels

Hybrid Solar Panels Combine Photovoltaics with Thermoelectricity: Scientific American:

The DOE awarded Weidlinger Associates, a New York City-based structural engineering firm, a $150,000 grant earlier this month (matched by a 10-percent commitment from the state) to develop durable hybrid solar roofing panels with integrated photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric materials that harvest the sun's energy to produce both electricity and hot water for buildings.

The water tubes are crucial to the design. Typically, when photovoltaics heat up they begin to lose their efficiency at normal operating temperatures in a sunny environment, says Greg Kelly, Weidlinger's director of sustainable design. The design created by Huiming Yin, an assistant professor of civil engineering and engineering mechanics at Columbia, incorporates a capacity to cool down the photovoltaics while also heating water for use in the building to which the panels are attached.