Tag Archives: cells
Bosch’s Safer PV Technology
First off, solar systems aren’t killers, but in certain—very unusal situations, they can be lethal. Once a PV module is connected to wiring, it’s outputting electricity when light hits it, and when the array’s wiring is compromised, or the grid is compromised, PV modules can pose a shock hazard. Solar manufacturers are aware of this [...]
FUTUREWATCH: Block Copolymer Solar Cells
A small team of researchers at the Rice and Pennsylvania State universities has developed a new solar cell that is based on organic block copolymers. The research and the new solar cell have led to the possibility of an entirely new class of solar panels. The organic block copolymers are compounds that self-arrange into certain [...]
Printer Belts Out Solar PV at 10 Meters Per Second
The new printer installed at Australia’s science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is making solar modules as fast as the news can print it. But this isn’t a conventional inkjet by any means. While scientists and researchers have talked about printing PV cells and modules, this is one of the largest [...]
Can Fluorescent Dye Increase the Efficiency of Solar Cells?
Scientists at Yale think that for some solar cells the future may be fluorescent. While many may believe that the purpose of a solar cell is to absorb light, not to emit it (fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation), it turns out that the [...]
Cooking Solar in a Microwave Oven?
University of Utah metallurgists created a “recipe” to produce solar cell material in a microwave oven. Using this kitchen appliance, a nanocrystal semiconductor suitable for photovoltaic applications can be manufactured rapidly from cheap abundant and less toxic metals than other semiconductors. Scientists hope that this new method will be used for more efficient photovoltaic solar [...]
Top 5 Recent Renewable Energy Breakthroughs
We are currently on the frontier of green energy. Scientists have been busy researching and developing ideas to launch humanity into the future of energy usage. A number of these technologies that have been admittedly doomed in their infancy. However, many have been vitalized with a number of incredible breakthroughs. The last few years have [...]
Multilayer Anti-Reflective Coating: Solar Cell Efficiency Special Sauce?
Anti-reflective coating is used in many types of solar cell on the market today. They do add a few percentages to overall performance, however, there are further improvements to be made. This is what Professor E. Fred Schubert and his team at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is working on. Recent improvements in nanotechnology have made [...]
Micro Inverters: What You Need to Know
Are you thinking about installing solar panels on your home or business? You may just want to update your current system and add value to your investment. There are two types of inverters that you can install on your solar panel array. These may be either an array inverter, which will convert the DC current [...]
Electric Cars vs. Fuel Cell Cars
While some car manufacturers are placing their bets on electric cars, Toyota has decided to continue its focus on hybrids, and will introduce 21 updated or full model change hybrids in the next three years. It expects to sell a million hybrids each year through 2015. This year, the Prius family became the third top sellling cars in [...]
UCLA Researchers Develop Near-Transparent PV Cell
Breakthroughs in solar cell technology could very well revolutionize the way we apply solar energy. Researchers at the California NanoSystems Institute of UCLA have recently developed a near-transparent photovoltaic cell, which will allow windows and other glass substances to become solar energy surfaces without seriously impairing its function and visibility. The cell was made using [...]
Natcore: Ready for Commercialization
Natcore Technologies is on the cusp of making its first sales. The New Jersey company is testing its liquid-phase deposition technology on solar cells from several solar manufacturers in North America, Europe and China. “If they meet the specs these people want, I think the timeline will be now,” said Natcorepresident and CEO Chuck Provini. [...]
In Focus: Hybrid Photovoltaic Cells
Hybrid photovoltaic panel cells consist of inorganic materials like zinc oxide and conjugated polymers, of which the latter, also known as the donors, absorbs light and transports what are known as electron holes to the inorganic materials (the acceptors). The latter then transports the electrons which are converted into clean electricity. Hybrid PVs have the [...]