Nature and optimisation
Solar trees
Could a tree-like spread of panels collect changing sunlight more evenly than one flat array? This is a simplified model for exploring the question.
Article-inspired experiment
Could trees teach us how to collect sunlight?
The American Museum of Natural History article describes a student investigating whether tree branches follow Fibonacci-like spiral patterns, then building a tree-shaped solar collector to compare with a normal flat solar-panel arrangement. The question was not just whether trees look mathematical, but whether their structure might help them receive sunlight from changing directions.
What this tool shows
This is a simplified simulation, not a claim about all trees or all solar panels. Use it to ask what happens when sunlight moves across the sky and panels are either flat together or spread out like a branching structure.
Read the AMNH articleTree-inspired output: 19%
Flat array output: 29%
Difference: -11 percentage points
The model asks: if panels cannot track the Sun, could a tree-like spread of small panels capture light more evenly during the day?
Through the day
Simulated solar output
Shaded street scenario
Where could a tree-like layout help?
In open sunlight, a well-aimed flat array often wins. In a narrow street with changing shadows, spreading small panels in several directions can make the system less dependent on one perfect angle.
Current winner: tree-inspired collector