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8	“Or, you can use solar cells to generate the weak electrical field to break the H2O bond ”

The Inefficiencies of Solar Power
(Based upon a horizontal PV array located at
the average continental U.S. latitude of 38º.)

ref.	source	loss (%)	power (per m²)
1.	Solar flux	-	1,368 W
2.	Atmospheric losses	45	752 W
3.	Night times losses	50	376 W
4.	Solar angle losses	50	188 W
5.	Cell conversion losses	88	22.6 W
6.	DC®AC inverter losses	10	20.3 W
7.	Net efficiency		1.5%
8.	Net energy (per m² per day)		0.5 kWh
9.	Value of energy (per m² per day)		4.3 ¢
10.	Solar panel cost (per m²)		$530
11.	Payback period		33 years

How much energy is that "0.5kWh" daily energy production number in line eight?

It is the amount of energy that will light a single 60 watt light bulb for 8 hours.
It is the energy equivalent of 2 oz of gasoline!
It is the energy released by burning 1/4 pound of firewood.
It is the amount of energy contained in four scoops of vanilla ice cream.
It is 2% of the average daily household consumption of energy.

--Boot Hill

" (Based upon a horizontal PV array located at the average continental U.S. latitude of 38º.) "

I appreciate the statistics - including the formatted table, which I plan to shamelessly steal from you to add to my own collection of useless energy facts - but I question the HORIZONTAL orientation. Why would it not be angled at the latitude value? You have a number for solar angle loss, that probably includes the average of 13.4% loss from this avoidable pointing error.

My solar water heating panels are appropriately angled - it is a trivial task, and allows rain to wash the dust off, as well.

I dispute your post thusly:

The film can convert up to 30 per cent of the sun's power into usable, electrical energy. Today's best plastic solar cells capture only about six per cent.

Sargent and other researchers combined specially-designed minute particles called quantum dots, three to four nanometres across, with a polymer to make a plastic that can detect energy in the infrared.

Infrared light is not visible to the naked eye but it is what most remote controls emit, in small amounts, to control devices such as TVs and DVD players.Link

And even more in depth data may be found here