Solar cell prices bottomed out almost 20 years ago...
--Boot Hill
Posted on 01/28/2005 5:47:41 AM PST by presidio9
Scientists have invented a plastic solar cell that can turn the sun's power into electrical energy, even on a cloudy day.
The plastic material uses nanotechnology and contains the first solar cells able to harness the sun's invisible, infrared rays. The breakthrough has led theorists to predict that plastic solar cells could one day become five times more efficient than current solar cell technology.
Like paint, the composite can be sprayed onto other materials and used as portable electricity. A sweater coated in the material could power a cell phone or other wireless devices. A hydrogen-powered car painted with the film could potentially convert enough energy into electricity to continually recharge the car's battery.
The researchers envision that one day "solar farms" consisting of the plastic material could be rolled across deserts to generate enough clean energy to supply the entire planet's power needs.
"The sun that reaches the Earth's surface delivers 10,000 times more energy than we consume," said Ted Sargent, an electrical and computer engineering professor at the University of Toronto. Sargent is one of the inventors of the new plastic material.
"If we could cover 0.1 percent of the Earth's surface with [very efficient] large-area solar cells," he said, "we could in principle replace all of our energy habits with a source of power which is clean and renewable."
Infrared Power
Plastic solar cells are not new. But existing materials are only able to harness the sun's visible light. While half of the sun's power lies in the visible spectrum, the other half lies in the infrared spectrum.
The new material is the first plastic composite that is able to harness the infrared portion.
"Everything that's warm gives off some heat. Even people and animals give off heat," Sargent said. "So there actually is some power remaining in the infrared [spectrum], even when it appears to us to be dark outside."
The researchers combined specially designed nano particles called quantum dots with a polymer to make the plastic that can detect energy in the infrared.
With further advances, the new plastic "could allow up to 30 percent of the sun's radiant energy to be harnessed, compared to 6 percent in today's best plastic solar cells," said Peter Peumans, a Stanford University electrical engineering professor, who studied the work.
Electrical Sweaters
The new material could make technology truly wireless.
"We have this expectation that we don't have to plug into a phone jack anymore to talk on the phone, but we're resigned to the fact that we have to plug into an electrical outlet to recharge the batteries," Sargent said. "That's only communications wireless, not power wireless."
He said the plastic coating could be woven into a shirt or sweater and used to charge an item like a cell phone.
"A sweater is already absorbing all sorts of light both in the infrared and the visible," said Sargent. "Instead of just turning that into heat, as it currently does, imagine if it were to turn that into electricity."
Other possibilities include energy-saving plastic sheeting that could be unfurled onto a rooftop to supply heating needs, or solar cell window coating that could let in enough infrared light to power home appliances.
Cost-Effectiveness
Ultimately, a large amount of the sun's energy could be harnessed through "solar farms" and used to power all our energy needs, the researchers predict.
"This could potentially displace other sources of electrical production that produce greenhouse gases, such as coal," Sargent said.
In Japan, the world's largest solar-power market, the government expects that 50 percent of residential power supply will come from solar power by 2030, up from a fraction of a percent today.
The biggest hurdle facing solar power is cost-effectiveness.
At a current cost of 25 to 50 cents per kilowatt-hour, solar power is significantly more expensive than conventional electrical power for residences. Average U.S. residential power prices are less than ten cents per kilowatt-hour, according to experts.
But that could change with the new material.
"Flexible, roller-processed solar cells have the potential to turn the sun's power into a clean, green, convenient source of energy," said John Wolfe, a nanotechnology venture capital investor at Lux Capital in New York City.
Newly weds.
That's still a hell of a lot of land.
Cool! Which distro?
You've got to try Bagelx...it burns little Penguins on the crunchy side.
It's almost a shame to schmear the little fellas with cream cheese, but them's the breaks.
Just envisioning someone sticking their cellphone plug up Michael Moore's @ss. *shiver*
| 8 | “Sure, solar power is expensive, but isn't it just a one time expense, basically?...So solar power may cost a lot now, but it pays for itself in the future and you reap those savings year after year?” |
Maybe you could point out those savings "you reap year after year"...
| ref. | source | loss (%) |
power (per m2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solar flux |
|
1,368 W | |
| Atmospheric losses |
|
752 W | |
|
|
Night times losses |
|
376 W |
| Solar angle losses |
|
188 W | |
| Cell conversion losses |
|
22.6 W | |
| DC®AC inverter losses |
|
20.3 W | |
|
|
Net efficiency |
|
1.5% |
|
|
Net energy (per m2 per day) |
|
0.5 kWh |
| Value of energy (per m2 per day) |
|
4.3 ¢ | |
| Solar panel cost (per m2) |
|
$530 | |
|
|
Payback period |
|
33 years |
|
--Boot Hill
The "Quality of Life Technologies" low-volume ping list (Freepmail me to join) is interested in technologies that will help maintain and/or improve the standard of living while still being realistic and having the potential to be profitable. To qualify as a QOLT story, I am looking for innovative solutions where capitalism and technology are employed together to solve the issues of energy, pollution, transportation, and/or similar concerns for a increasingly mobile and urban society.
my understanding is that the sun already loaded up the earth with a lot of energy that is currently waiting to be tapped - fossil fuel!
Still, a solar/body heat sweater would be cool. How about pants that capture methane? Or a space heater powered by dirty baby diapers?
Solar is getting there... traditional solar cell systems are benefitting from the process improvement in semiconductor manufacturing... if they can follow a similar price curve for power as current CPUs did, in about 3 years you will be able to buy the same system for about half the cost.
If we use these solar panels we will be absorbing 1/10th of 1% of the sun's energy that is usually reflected back into the atmosphere. By absorbing this energy and using it for our greedy needs we will be responsible for GLOBAL COOLING!!!. We must stop this madness now I tell you. (SARCASM OFF)
I'd say....THE FUTURE IS NOW!!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1330511/posts
I wanted solar power or something from the latest technology to heat/cool when we built two years ago. Solar was too expensive and the idea of a windmill/battery bank didn't seem like a good idea. We went for a geothermal heating and cooling unit with 4 200 foot wells under the driveway. Works great.
There are certain assumptions that are not accurate in all cases. For instance, in the part of PA where I live, power is about 10 cents per kWh, not 8.6 cents. And the pricing of the panel, listed at $699, can be much less if you are a careful shopper. But I do agree that in general the payback is not there yet.
Actually, there's an even better plastic photovoltaic material called Lumeloid with a theoretical efficiency of 72-84%. It was invented and patented by Dr. Alvin Marks of Athol, MA, who holds around 130 US patents.
They had a working sample but have been stymied by insufficient funding.
Solar cell prices bottomed out almost 20 years ago...
--Boot Hill
Do You Want Matthew Lesko to help ask Government To Grant You?
Solar/wind installations are only cost-effective when you are far from the grid. A lot of cottages in northern Ontario have solar panels and wind turbines because the setup cost ($10/watt including batteries and chargers) is cheaper than getting a hydro line run to the nearest pole.
Only if I can get one of those suits. I can't be upstaged when taking a handout.
That is correct, the data shown in post #26 don't hold true for PA, due to the much lower solar energy levels there, solar cell performance will be much lower than the national average and lower than show in my table. (source)
"And the pricing of the panel, listed at $699, can be much less if you are a careful shopper."
Citation please...
--Boot Hill
That 5x comparison is against polymer solar cells, which as you mentioned are less efficient than silicon. Although less efficient, the polymer cells are (or will be) cheaper to produce and more flexible. Still, this stuff could be even more efficient than silicon so there is a lot of potential here, especially for portable electronics.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
