Textured Glass Increases Light Transmission In Solar Modules

Optical modeling and experimental results show that glass textured with steep inverted pyramids allows a significant reduction of optical losses in solar modules. The annual relative gain in transmission between a plane surface and an ideal reverse pyramidal-tetured surface has been calculated to be 8.1% for direct radiation and 6.1% for diffuse radiation for a standard year in Cologne, Germany. The real sinusoidal-textured soda-lime cast glass also allows maximum light absorption of solar modules.