We normally do not relate butterflies to solar panels. After all, bees and butterflies are good for pollinating flowers and transforming them to fruits so that nature can propagate. On the other hand, solar panels are human creations that collect energy from the sun for the use of humankind. The link between the two seems rather distant, apart from the fact that the sun is the basic force that drives all life on our planet. However, science finds the humble butterfly could be holding the key to unlock new techniques for making solar energy cheaper and more efficient.
Cabbage White butterflies need to heat up their flight muscles before they can take off. Researchers at the University of Exeter have observed that the butterflies adopt a specific posture to maximize solar heat capture. The butterflies position their wings in a V-shape, which, when the researchers adapted for their solar panels, increased the power-to-weight ratio of the panels by about 17 times, making them more efficient.
Scientific Reports, a leading scientific journal has published the research. The research team contained members from both the Centre for Ecology and Conservation and the Environment and Sustainability Institute, based at the University of Exeter in the Penryn Campus in Cornwall. According to Tapas Mallick, the lead author of the research, although bio mimicry is popular in engineering, such unparalleled multidisciplinary research is opening pathways for developing low cost solar panels.
Butterflies usually depend on the sun to heat up their flight muscles before they can take off. However, researchers found the Cabbage White butterflies taking flight before other butterflies did, even on cloudy days. The energy from the sun is limited on cloudy days, forcing insects to make maximum use of the available energy to heat up their flight muscles.
Researchers observed that Cabbage White butterflies adopted a v-shaped posture, known as reflectance basking. That allows the butterflies to maximize the concentration of solar energy onto their thorax, so necessary for fast heating up the flight muscles. The wings of the butterflies have a specific sub-structure that allows maximum light from the sun to be most efficiently reflected onto their muscles, which warm up to the optimal temperature as quickly as possible.
The scientists then investigated the process of replication of the butterfly wings for developing a new, lightweight reflective material solar energy products could use. They found that by replicating the simple monolayer of scale cells on the butterfly wings, they could optimize the power-to weight ration of solar concentrators. That made the solar cells lighter and more efficient.
The team also found the optimal angle at which the butterfly held its wings. When the butterflies tilted their wings by about 17 degrees to the body, they were able to increase the temperature of their bodies by 7.3°C more than when they held their wings flat. By positioning the reflectors at 17 degrees within the solar cells, researchers found the output from the solar cells increased by 50 times.
Therefore, by studying the manner in which the lowly butterfly maximized its use of solar energy, scientists could not only double the output of their solar cells. They were also able to improve its power-to-weight ratio significantly.
