Baillargeon creates revolutionary solar panel invention

BERLIN - Mark Baillargeon, owner of Mohawk Custom on Goebel Street, is more than just an inveterate tinkerer. He is an inventor whose ideas flow from his mind onto paper and into design build in short order. Some of his most recent inventions have garnered interest from well know retail outlets and manufacturers.

Baillargeon is currently working with a Massachusetts patent attorney on an idea that could very well revolutionize the solar panel industry. Working on this idea for the past year and one half, Baillargeon explained that regular solar panels work on at least four different light spectrums, including UV and infrared, and are only capable of producing a certain amount of energy. Working for the last year and a half, he has developed a unique coating for use on solar panels. The coating acts much like a liquid capacitor - essentially fooling the solar panel into thinking it is daylight. The substance he designed is UV ready and can absorb UV light, which in turn activates a solar panel to produce energy in total darkness. Instead of spraying this substance onto the panels, Baillargeon said he will use a peel and stick model with the coating so it be applied to any traditional solar panel. The solar panels using the coating will be more efficient and the glow in the dark substance means energy output will continue radiating to the panel for forty-eight hours in complete darkness. Baillargeon said he wants the application available for commercial as well as residential use. He calculates the coating will increase the efficiency of a solar panel from 28 percent to 60 percent, meaning cheaper, more efficient energy output. He anticipates the coating will be ready to market in the near future.