Solar-Energy-Power.net

Here’s an interesting report on solar cells by Reuters from Chicago.

Here’s a finding reported on Sunday in the journal Nature Materials, which offers a new way to process conventional silicon by slicing the brittle wafers into ultrathin bits and carefully transferring them onto a flexible surface.

US researchers have found a way to make efficient silicon-based solar cells that are flexible enough to be rolled around a pencil and transparent enough to be used to tint windows on buildings or cars.

“We can make it thin enough that we can put it on plastic to make a rollable system. You can make it gray in the form of a film that could be added to architectural glass,” said John Rogers of the University of Illinois.

It opens up spaces on the fronts of buildings as opportunities for solar energy,” Rogers said. Solar cells, which convert solar energy into electricity, are in high demand because of higher oil prices and concerns over climate change.

The new technology could be used on car windows, generating enough electricity to power the GPS or air conditioning.

Many companies, including Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp Corp and Germany’s Q-Cells are making thin-film solar cells, but they typically are less efficient at converting solar energy into electricity than conventional cells.

Rogers said his technology uses conventional single crystal silicon. “It’s robust. It’s highly efficient. But in its current form, it’s rigid and fragile,” he said.

Rogers’ team uses a special etching method that slices chips off the surface of a bulk silicon wafer. The sliced chips are 10 to 100 times thinner than the wafer, and the size can be adapted to the application.

Once sliced, a device picks up the bits of silicon chips “like a rubber stamp” and transfers them to a new surface material, Rogers said. “These silicon solar cells become like a solid ink pad for that rubber stamp. The surface of the wafers after we’ve done this slicing become almost like an inking pad,” he said. “We just print them down onto a target surface.”

The final step is to electrically connect these cells to get power out of them, he said. Adding flexibility to the material would make the cells far easier to transport. Rogers envisions the material being “rolled up like a carpet and thrown on the truck.”

“The work could create new ways to use silicon in photovoltaics – as ‘tinting’ films in architectural or automotive glass (like sunroofs); as large area ‘rollable’ sheets; or as lightweight ’solar skins’ for integration onto structural surfaces on buildings or even aircraft,” says Rogers.

Its easy to get your RV solar power systems, which are now increasingly becoming readily available, and so it makes sense to judge their practicality before opting for such an option. You need to realize whether such RV solar power systems will suit you when you go camping and whether they are indeed portable enough and also durable so that they will last a long time. These questions must be addressed as too the cost effectiveness and ability to produce enough energy for regular usage.

Not Needed Where Full Hook-Ups Exist: There is no doubt that RV solar power systems are ideal for the road and whether you go camping or for other excursions they will suit your needs, though it is their practicality that must be known before taking the plunge and installing them on your RV. For example, if you are going to a place where there is full hook-up and so the practicality of RV solar power systems in such situations is open to doubt though it can still serve as an adequate backup in case of a power outage, though it may yet turn out to be an unnecessary expense.

However, if your intention is to enjoy the freedom of the wide open spaces where there is no hook-up, and going off the beaten track is what you think is going to be more fun, then you could consider having RV solar power systems which will come in very handy if you are in a quiet location, or by the stream, or out there in the back of beyond. Having RV solar power systems in such circumstances would make it altogether unnecessary to look for another campground or other spot with full hook-up.

Thus, RV solar power systems are really practical for those who want to go to places where there is no hook-up as it provides a practical and effective solution to their energy needs and allows for going to places off the usual track and can make for a more comfortable outing even in the remotest of places.

It is also not difficult to operate RV solar power systems and the same is the case when charging the batteries with the help of solar power, though not all RV solar power systems are the same and so you must plan for the type that suits you the best. It is thus necessary to determine the energy requirements that will suit your RV needs after which you must go out and buy as also install the solar panels, inverters and batteries that should then be able to output sufficient energy for all of your needs.

If you need help with determining the amount of energy you will need for your excursions, you can always go online and search the Internet where there are many websites that will provide you guidance on this matter and which will also explain the components required to generate that much energy. And, to meet different energy requirements, there are RV solar power systems available in all sizes that will fit different needs.