Photosynthesis More Efficiency Than Solar Panels

The average efficiency of solar panels falls between the 17 to 19 percent efficiency range.

Photosynthesis more efficiency than solar panels.

All biofuels today rely on photosynthesis but it turns out this is not very efficient and only about one percent of the solar energy is captured by the plant and stored as chemical energy that can be converted to a fuel molecule. According to the wikipedia page on photosynthetic efficiency typical plants have a radiant energy to chemical energy conversion efficiency between 0 1 and 2. Photosynthesis conducted by algae turns roughly 3 percent of incoming sunlight into organic compounds including yet more plant cells annually. More efficient energy photosynthesis quantum cells the dilemma is if it is possible or not to design efficient solar cells that can harness the sun s energy as efficiently as plants do.

Photosynthesis is less efficient than solar panels. A natural process that occurs during photosynthesis could lead to the design of more efficient artificial solar cells according to researchers at georgia state university. Photosynthesis can be described by the simplified chemical reaction 6 h 2 o 6 co 2 energy c 6 h 12 o 6 6 o 2. The highest efficiency solar panels on the market today can reach almost 23 percent efficiency.

Where c 6 h 12 o 6 is glucose which is subsequently transformed into other sugars cellulose lignin and so forth. Factors that affect solar panel efficiency. Photosynthesis is less efficient than solar panels. Currently solar cells are 20 percent efficient at utilizing the sun s energy resulting in a lot of wasted energy.

This is a big difference because if photosynthesis makes a mistake it makes toxic byproducts that kill the organism. It seems likely that people will continue to want liquid and solid fuels that can be burned whereas solar panels can only provide us with electricity. Most commercially available solar panels have more than 10 times this efficiency. While solar panels are straining at the theoretical limits of their efficiency seeking to break free there s still a place for artificial photosynthesis which was for a long time a forgotten cousin.

Artificial photosynthesis comprising a pv cell. Plants have to power a living thing whereas solar cells only have to send electricity down a wire. According to the wikipedia page on photosynthetic efficiency typical plants have a radiant energy to chemical energy conversion efficiency between 0 1 and 2. To address this waste of energy.