Aug
2
Dye Based Photovoltaic Cells Could Get an Big Upgrade
August 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), the ones in mind when printed solar cells or ‘roll to roll’ cell production is discussed, have an upgrade in the works at the University of Minnesota. Bin Liu and Eray S. Aydil have engineered alternating layers of nanometer and micrometer particles that send light ricocheting through layers of microscopic spheres, [...]
Jul
20
Rooftop Solar Is Better Than Thought
July 20, 2011 | 1 Comment
The quiet underside of rooftop solar now has some story to tell with hard research numbers in hand. Jan Kleissl, a professor of environmental engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering leading a team of researchers can show roof mounted solar panels aren’t just providing clean power; they are cooling your house, [...]
Jul
18
TU Delft student of Sustainable Energy Technology Stefan Roest has developed a new type of hybrid solar collector with a higher efficiency and a longer lifespan than the hybrid panels on sale today. A hybrid solar panel combines a photovoltaic solar cell that converts sunlight into electricity with a thermal solar collector to harvest infrared [...]
Jun
30
CIGS You’re Going to Like
June 30, 2011 | 2 Comments
“CIGS” stands for the copper, indium, gallium and selenium elements comprising chalcopyrite, one of the most promising compounds for advanced solar panels. You’ll like them because engineers at Oregon State University have discovered the initial way to create successful “CIGS” solar devices with inkjet printing. The familiar inkjet printer is a low-cost technology that with [...]
Jun
6
A Better Solar Panel Result
June 6, 2011 | 2 Comments
With photovoltaic panels the solar energy is harvested, but getting the resulting electricity to a useful form is still to go. Solar panels make direct current; while the homes, businesses and the grid use alternating current. Or simply put the electrons all stream steadily one way with direct current called ‘DC’ and the electrons stream [...]
May
24
New Record Set For Flexible Solar Cells
May 24, 2011 | 2 Comments
Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology scientists at Empa have further boosted the energy conversion efficiency of flexible photovoltaic solar cells made of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (also known as CIGS) to a new world record of 18.7 percent. The same team achieved the previous record of 17.6 percent in June 2010 making [...]
May
18
A New Way To Catch A Photon
May 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jun Xu a member of ORNL’s Chemical Sciences Division has boosted the light-to-power conversion efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells by nearly 80 percent with a new method to build photovoltaic solar cell. Xu said he and his team, “designed the three-dimensional structure to provide an intrinsic electric field distribution that promotes [...]
Oct
14
New Materials For Low Cost Solar Cells
October 14, 2010 | 2 Comments
Just this Monday past we saw that North Carolina State researchers had zeroed in on just what is holding up the exciton in a polymer photovoltaic solar cell. Then as if by serendipity Rutgers let loose their announcement they have found a new material. Rutgers physicists have discovered new properties in a material that could [...]
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