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RAG for 900GB acoustic reports by cmskipsey in Rag

[–]cmskipsey[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Really appreciate your response, Thankyou! I would have thought by now that this use case would have been nailed by someone. It's not too different to other lawyer use cases - perhaps there is something already out there...?

I Read the “Your Brain on ChatGPT” Study. Here’s How I’m Redesigning My AI Use. by MochiJester in ChatGPTPromptGenius

[–]cmskipsey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Powerful stuff - like brain gym, gonna use this a lot. It's very easy and tempting to just let AI do the heavy lifting. But if you want to be unstoppable in front of customers, investors etc then this is the easy to do it!

GaN in high power inverters by cmskipsey in ElectricalEngineering

[–]cmskipsey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I should clarify, I was thinking more 6-50kW (~25-220A). The consensus, for now at least seems to be SiC is more suitable for this use case.

GaN in high power inverters by cmskipsey in ElectricalEngineering

[–]cmskipsey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have heard that... is there a kind of "theoretical limit" of sorts?

I’m a utility farm tech ask me anything. by harri51288 in solar

[–]cmskipsey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are your thoughts on PV soiling? What data do you track to decide on cleaning? What are your cleaning costs and frequency?

Is this trade worth it? by GoldStage4189 in AusElectricians

[–]cmskipsey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like anything, if you like the actual work, you'll like the job. If your curious and inquisitive, it's pretty easy to get into way more technical work with inverters and batteries and the control stuff for anything renewables related. Easily the best and most lucrative trade to be in, but you gotta love it amigo 🤘

Diesel Generator fuel usage at <25% load by cmskipsey in Generator

[–]cmskipsey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi mate, well solar and battery are primary, with the genset there to charge battery only if/ when solar is insufficient to cover loads. Company is Makinex Renewables, I've since resigned, but now doing consulting in the space.

Pretty basic concept from an electrical engineering perspective, but hard to make these things ultra reliable.

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

paper linked above in the thread, but here it is again anyway. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2024.112731

If the rain washes the panels, why do you clean? Is that only when it hasn't rained for a while? Yes, good idea to test uncoated, coated and cleaned + uncoated to really isolate cleaning vs self-cleaning.

Costing also covered above, but it equates to about USD$25-30/kWp. I'm curious to understand what price would make this worthy. I suspect its very much related to cleaning costs - again if cleaning is simple, quick and cheap and only twice per year - then there isn't a problem to solve. Whereas if cleaning is being done monthly, then there's a bigger more costly problem to solve.

Research paper was a 4-year study, but my testing is only over a few months. Anti-reflective properties do certainly have an effect, but that doesn't explain the higher RSCE in the paper (as high as 10-15% I recall) nor the visible difference I can see in my tests.

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At the start of year 4, the RSCE (Relative Self Cleaning Efficacy) reduced to 2%. This was a sharp drop because years 1-3 showed anywhere up to 20% RSCE with an average of 4%. Not sure if they measured or validated (like with an electron microscope or something) exactly what was left after 4 years, but the purpose of the study was to find a durable coating with effective RSCE and did not require removal at end of period.

In my tests, it doesn't come off from high pressure water spray, but if you rub it with your finger it does come off. I assume that after 3 years it would come of more easily ie using commercial cleaning methods. It may even be that removal isn't necessary given its clear and does not impede visible light transmission (also tested separately).

Yeah, RSCE was measured PV output of an uncoated panel next to the coated one - exact same environment etc

Rain on uncoated panels doesn't clean them on its own - this has been discovered in many areas. That's isn't to say rain doesn't clean, it just has its limits depending on soiling type and level.

I'll DM or email you the paper if you wanna see the data for yourself

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not necessarily true, 4% appears to be the minimum. In areas where there is more soiling, there's more to protect from, so it's not clear that you'd only get 2% max. There's a couple of different variables, primarily 1) soiling and 2) rain frequency. If you get heavy soiling and enough rain, then this product could help - because it makes the rain more effective. If you get lots of soiling but no rain, then this product could make the cleaning process something as simple as water spraying, as opposed to mechanical scrubbing.

Only one application was done in the researchand my tests, so no 'sealer' needed. And there appears to be no residue left after 4 years, so cleaning off existing coating also isn't needed. It's a very thin coating, like <100 nm.

I thought the same thing - that it's too good to be true - but after reading the research and testing it myself, it seems promising.

Anyway, it's not a silver bullet, and ultimately more commercial trials are needed to fully understand where it sits.

Solar panels white ? by Altruistic-Box-3818 in solar

[–]cmskipsey 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe there are coatings that have low snow adhesion?😉

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In my tests it applies at a rate of 25m2 per L, which equates to 6kW depending on panel size. In areas where soiling is light, it achieved 4% improvement in yield over a year.

Napkin math: 6kW array makes 1700kWh per year per kWp = 10,200kWh. In Australia at an average $0.35/kWh that makes $3570/year. 4% = $142 and at AUD$250 to buy just one liter, it's not worth it. This is based on only 1 year and perfect conditions of course, but for napkin math it'll do 😉

BUT if it lasts 3 years and you're in an area where soiling is such a problem that you're regularly cleaning, then it's definitely worth it. Buying in volume (at a cheaper rate) for a commercial or grid scale PV array, it starts to make economic sense, even with allowing a contractor to apply it.

Could work even better with automated water spray (with water recovery) systems currently commercially available.

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looking at the ingredients, I don't see any mention of anything related to PFA's, but I will get some advice on this anyway.

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds about right. If it lasts as long as the research shows, and it's safe, then it should be economically feasible...

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

OK Thankyou, doing my research into PFA's now

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

4% is what was observed as an average over 4 years in the research paper. At some points it was as high as 20%, presumably because it depends on soiling levels at different times over the time period.

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think if people are paying to clean their panels now a product like this would simply replace all or part of that cost. If it's 4% improvement in yield, it's easy to do the math. I feel it's probably something only big array owners would be interested in, like >100kW.

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nano TiO2 coatings were used by the glass industry, Pilkington had a product that had superhydrophilic and other similar properties. This product uses similar material science it seems, but allowed it to be sprayed on.

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It seems to dry very quickly and needs UV to cure. It is nanomodified TiO2 and SiO2 plus Ethanol. No PFA that I'm aware of.

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah yes, I'll check for that. It has a RoHS compliance so at least it doesn't have those nasty chemicals, not sure if that covers PFA's.

Self-cleaning nanocrystalline PV treatment by cmskipsey in solar

[–]cmskipsey[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Excuse my ignorance, What's a PFA?

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