THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS

Archive for December, 2008

Thin Film Solar Panel Facts

Thin Film Solar Panels are made up of a lightweight and flexible material, which can be rolled up and easily transported. Therefore they are very useful as sources of portable power.

Any person who has ever used a solar-powered calculator has had “hands on” experience with Thin Film Photovoltaics. This technology has been with us for years, creating the strips which are used to power calculators

This photovoltaic technology has now evolved to a point where we can mass-produce solar panels, through the use of machines not unlike printing presses.

The substance which is used to print these photovoltaic panels is called “solar ink.”

Solar ink can be made in any color. In fact, it is possible to design the inks in such a way as to make use of different parts of the light spectrum.

Solar presses “print out” thin panels called “solar rolls.” These rolls are 13 inches wide, and can be up to 2400 feet long. They can be cut to the required size, after the solar ink has been printed onto them.

Thin and flexible photovoltaic solar panels are not as effective as solid panels. It’s the fact that they are so much cheaper and lighter than conventional solar panels, that gives them the “edge”.

The U.S. military is extremely interested in the development of thin-film solar technology, and spent 1.7 million dollars on one laboratory last year, in order to facilitate the development of Thin Film Photovoltaics. The government is interested in using this technology for troop communication devices, and to reduce the heat signatures which are created when troops use conventional generators.

Solar shades and tents are now available, using thin film photovoltaics, which provide up to 2kw of power. This allows them to operate laptops, communication devices, TVs, and much more.

Thin film photovoltaic devices are now widely available on the consumer market.

A flexible solar panel weighing less than a pound is now capable of recharging a laptop. Due to its flexibility, it can be rolled up and transported easily.

Flexible photovoltaic panels are also a realistic source of emergency power. They are a handy and economic addition to emergency preparedness kits and wilderness survival kits.

Current research on Thin Film Photovoltaics is aimed at increasing the power output of these panels. If this research achieves this goal, there is a very good possibility that we will have solved the problem cheap and clean renewable energy.

Next month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is shaping up to be an interesting event. A few days ago, we reported that Energizer plans on debuting its solar-powered battery charger at the show. Now LG has announced the CES debut of its sunlight-illuminated 14.1 inch LCD notebook panel.

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If Dell’s VP of Communications is so critical of Apple’s green policies, a month after Apple bragged about their new recyclable, energy-efficient MacBooks, why didn’t he just say that Dell is greener? Is it because he’s humble, or becaus his job is to confuse people? Ha, sorry, that’s too mean. A PR man’s job is to lie. But sometimes he accidentally tells the truth.

While Dell still beats Apple in Greenpeace’s annual electronics report, Apple will catch up if they meet their targets over the next few years. Here’s how the two computer makers compare (according to Greenpeace) on energy efficiency, packaging, materials, and recycling.

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It is hard to boot up the computer or turn on the television without hearing about the recession, credit crisis, budget deficits, and unemployment rates.  Amazingly, venture capital investment in the clean tech sector reached new levels over the first three quarters of 2008.

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The safety of nuclear plants is often debated, but we rarely hear about another potential issue for nuclear energy: peak uranium. That’s the point in time when when the maximum global uranium production is reached and begins to enter a permanent decline. And while we’ve known for some time that high-quality uranium supplies have been declining for the past 50 years, nuclear operators are finally getting nervous.

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