Advances and significance of solar reflectors in solar energy technology in Pakistan

Abstract

Being located in the Sun Belt, Pakistan is rich in sunlight and receives a high mean irradiation. This condition is ideal for harnessing Sun’s power for solar energy applications by using solar reflectors. In spite of possessing such a rich solar irradiation area, Pakistan is facing energy crisis because most of the energy resources are still unexploited. This paper discusses the energy crisis of Pakistan and provides the solution by putting efforts into solar energy technology, as well as devising innovative ways to incorporate solar reflectors into a solar panel and get more power generation out of it by a diminutive modification. Reflectors are used in the solar technology to concentrate the sunlight onto the solar panels. They employ glass as a base material with a silver coating and a protective layer over it. They elevate the energy input of solar panels as the whole solar spectrum is reflected on them. Materials with more reflective properties are needed to be used to increase the reflectivity and efficiency of solar reflectors. In Pakistan, no significant work is done till now towards the development of solar reflectors. If solar reflectors are used with the solar panels, then their efficiency as well as production from the solar panels will be maximized.