Act On Solar Energy. The future source of energy
4th November 2010
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SOLAR ENERGY. THE FUTURE SOURCE OF ENERGY

fractal-solarThe concept of harnessing solar energy for the use of production of energy has been around for a long time.
However as this is and was an expensive option for many people, it was rather impractical for people to invest and bank on solar energy for the provision of their energy needs.

However today with the advancements made in technology, solar technology is now being made available at lower costs and with improved efficiency.
With these advancements made in solar technology, pretty soon consumers will be able to buy consumer products that run on solar energy like cell phones, automobiles, computers, office buildings and homes.

The present research that is being done on improving solar products includes the discovery of ‘plastic’ solar cells that has grown very much in popularity.

With the new ‘plastic’ solar cells, there are some chemical modifications done to the titanium oxide layers which are slotted to improve the solar efficiency to about 15 percent in the near future.

So far, plastic solar cells have been developed that produce efficiencies between 5 to 6 percent, which is considered to be amongst the highest found to this date, for this type of solar cell. With these developments, there is to be a wider use of plastic solar cells which are low cost, efficient and a long lasting source of solar energy.

Another group of professors in Switzerland have developed a form of dye-sensitized solar cells that very efficient in its functioning. This is one of the many types of thin film photovoltaic devices that are being developed today that show promise as a low-cost source of energy. These new cells have an ultra thin film of semiconductor crystals that are nano-sized.

These cells have been proven to show efficiencies of 11 percent in laboratory studies. This is in contrast to other new solar cells that have efficiencies that range between 4 to 5%. These cells can be coated on glass windows so that it is possible to supply electric power to homes and businesses.

They can also be used as coating on tents to provide power for soldiers on the field and campers on a trip. These cells are easily engineered into inexpensive, flexible sheets and are expected to be used in consumer applications in two to three years’ time with an unlimited number of ideas for its applications.

Yet another group of researchers for solar energy have found a new and promising means of boosting the efficiency of solar cells. In their research, carbon nanotubes were engineered into the structure of semiconductor solar cells that results in a doubling of the photo conversion efficiencies of the cells.

With this, the efficiency of solar cells jumped from 5 to 10% in some cells because of the carbon nanotubes. These carbon nanotubes can also be used in other types of solar cells like dye-sensitized solar cells and organic solar cells that are used based on conducting polymers so that there is a similar or stronger boost in efficiency.

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Harish D

Member since: 9th May 2011

UK s most connected person in the Solar Energy Bisnesses. http://actonsolarpower.com and http://actonsocialmedia.com provide a complete done-for-you social media Marketing and Internet service for Solar...

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