How Our Xenon Arc Lamps Promote the Growth of Solar Technologies
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine first disrupted fossil fuel supplies in early 2022, support for renewable energy sources has seen a dramatic increase across the globe, with many countries strengthening their policies and promoting the benefits of domestically generated energy. One renewable energy source that’s seeing especially rapid growth is solar photovoltaics (PV), a sustainable method of producing electricity by harnessing the power of the sun.
Solar technologies generate energy by concentrating sunlight (also known as electromagnetic radiation) as it passes through PV panels or mirrors. Once concentrated, radiation can be used immediately as electricity or stored in thermal batteries for later use. This method of energy production is expected to more than double in the next four years; in fact, according to the 2022 Renewables report published by the International Energy Agency, the combination of wind energy and solar PV will produce nearly 20% of the world’s power by 2027.
This rapid growth of solar technologies in the coming years also means an increased demand for reliable, high-quality products used to test PV cells. Typically, these quality control tests are performed with a device called a solar simulator, which produces artificial sunlight so tests can be performed in indoor laboratories. Solar simulators are divided into two distinct types based on the way they produce light: continuous simulators, which emit light in a steady stream often used for low intensity testing, and flashed simulators (also known as pulsed simulators) which emit light in short bursts of a few milliseconds each.
To be an effective and accurate means of testing PV technologies, solar simulators require a powerful, reliable light source that’s capable of approximating sunlight. The light source used most commonly in both continuous and flashed simulators is the xenon arc lamp, in part because of its unfiltered spectrum that offers a close match to sunlight. Known for being high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps, xenon arc lamps produce a powerful electric arc by ionizing gas at high pressure.
Applied Photon Technology (APT) is proud to manufacture the highest quality xenon flash and arc lamps on the market. Our unprecedented levels of consistency and quality mean our lamps are used for a range of applications that require the utmost precision, including medicine, industrial applications and science. Our innovative approaches to production and design mean we’re constantly improving our products for use in cutting-edge applications, including to perform quality controls for sources of renewable energy.
To learn more about our xenon arc lamps and the ways they can be used to test and promote renewable energy sources, get in touch with us here!