[zeestephen]

I read a surprising fact recently.

The theoretical limit for converting solar light energy into electricity is just 33%.

In other words, a photoelectric cell working at optimal efficiency, can only harvest one third of the energy it receives.

Please don’t ask me to explain the physics involved, because I don’t understand it, either.

[SauronOfMordor]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shockley–Queisser_limit

That limit is for cells with a single pn junction. Multi layer solar cells can go up to 80%+ efficiency, in theory.

Once you get much past 30% efficiency, the cost per watt of the cell becomes more important.