A new solar technology promises to offer double the efficiency of\u00a0conventional residential panels, by using an optical system to concentrate the light on tiny cells typically reserved for space satellites. Insolight, a new solar startup founded by three former students from Switzerland\u2019s \u00c9cole Polytechnique f\u00e9d\u00e9rale de Lausanne, claims its panels can offer yields of up to 29 percent. By comparison, many panels on the market offer yields around 17 to 19 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the latest in a line of big movements from the solar industry, which has seen a number of\u00a0innovative launches\u00a0amid\u00a0lowering costs. The startup, which outlined its technology to its\u00a0former university\u00a0on Tuesday, decided to use highly efficient cells normally used to power satellites. These cells are incredibly expensive, so to keep costs down the team developed a layer of optical lenses, held in place with a frame and covered by protective glass, that focuses the light onto the cells by a factor of 100. That means the cells themselves, which measure one square millimeter each, only take up around half a percent of the surface area of the panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n