Floating solar panel systems
OwnerLiliane Smadja, Paul Isaac Smadjainventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A floating solar system having a peripheral buoyant pontoon within which is suspended an array of individual photovoltaic panels each equipped with a float. A stabilizing skirt drops down into the water underneath the pontoon and creates a more placid “moon pool” within the pontoon to reduce turbulence from wave action and therefore enhance the efficiency of the array of photovoltaic panels. A plurality of the floating solar systems may be aggregated to form an island of units. The individual panels or rows or columns thereof may be flat (horizontal) or tilted so that they can be oriented more normally with regard to the sun's rays.
Claims20
A floating solar system, comprising:
- a border pontoon adapted to float on water defining a closed peripheral shape surrounding an interior space;
- an array of interconnected photovoltaic panels distributed within the peripheral shape and structurally supported by support cables extending across between sides of the pontoon so as to span the interior space, each photovoltaic panel having a flotation device secured thereto so that the array is at least partially buoyant, the photovoltaic panels being electrically connected;
- and
- a stabilizing skirt downwardly-depending from the border pontoon to surround a column of water underneath the array of photovoltaic panels, the skirt being weighted to remain substantially vertical in the water and forming a barrier around the column of water so as to create a more stable volume of water within the peripheral shape than outside of the border pontoon, wherein the skirt has a depth that is between about 10-40% of the width of the closed peripheral shape.
A floating solar system, comprising:
- a border pontoon adapted to float on water defining a closed peripheral shape surrounding an interior space;
- an array of interconnected photovoltaic panels structurally connected together within the peripheral shape, each photovoltaic panel having a flotation device secured thereto so that the array is at least partially buoyant, the photovoltaic panels being electrically connected;
- and
- a stabilizing skirt downwardly-depending from the border pontoon to surround a column of water underneath the array of photovoltaic panels, the skirt having a plurality of struts supporting solid vertical panels therebetween, the struts made of a material having a higher density than water, the skirt thus forming a barrier around the column of water and creating a more stable volume of water within the peripheral shape than outside of the border pontoon.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.