Posts Tagged solar cell

Solar-Powered Clothing Researched at Colorado State University

Posted by Guest Contributor in Solar Power on April 19, 2012

A very recent study at Colorado State University could bring a complete revolution to the traditional way solar panel charging systems are handled and utilized. Researchers and students affiliated to the university have shown that there is a possibility that natural clothing material could be incorporated with solar-powered chargers and be used to tap solar [...]

Solar3D Claims New Solar Cells 200% More Efficient Than Standard Ones

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on March 22, 2012

Solar3D, a company saying it will revolutionize solar power, has just published a thorough simulation analysis of its new 3D solar cells. They’re saying their solar cell technology is 200% more efficient in harvesting the energy of sunlight than conventional counterparts. The company’s 3D solar cells are better from the fact that they can harvest [...]

New Bismuth Selenide Material Enhances Solar Cells’ Heat-Capturing Ability

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on March 9, 2012

An “exotic” material belonging to a class of materials called “topological insulators” could help solar cells and optical communication devices evolve. A team of scientists from Stanford and SLAC have noticed that ultra-thin sheets of that material remain transparent and highly conductive even in the harshest conditions. To be more precise, the researchers flexed, folded [...]

UK Scientists One Step Closer to Artificial Leaves With New Discovery

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on February 23, 2012

As the world stands on grim perspectives, such as the doubling of energy consumption within the next 40 years and the imminent shortage of oil and gas, the attention shifts towards nature’s resorts. And photosynthesis, far-fetched as it may seem, is no exception. The principle of it is relatively simple: plants produce carbohydrates through what [...]

Usable Quantum Dot Solar Cells Finally Produced at NREL

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on December 20, 2011

A new type of solar cell developed by a team of researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, is able to harvest the energy that photovoltaic cells usually lose as heat. Although the efficiency is for now only 5 percent, the process could be improved in the future. The researchers led by [...]

New Organic Solar Cell Efficiency Record Obtained by Heliatek

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on December 8, 2011

A new efficiency record for organic photovoltaic cells has been reached by Heliatek, for the third time in a row. The German company created a cheap solar cell that can convert up to 9.8 percent of the incoming light into electricity. Heliatek’s new solar cell is made from oligomers, and differs from polymer and dye-sensitized [...]

Silver/Silicon Oxide Nanoscale Shape Absorbing More Sunlight

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on November 2, 2011

Researchers from Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a material that could one time revolutionize the solar cell industry, by absorbing a wider range of wavelengths than currently used materials are able to. “The solar spectrum is not like a laser Ã¢â‚¬â€œ it’s very broadband, starting with UV and going [...]

Transparent Solar Cells Made Cheap, Efficient and Flexible With Carbon Nanotubes

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on October 6, 2011

A new discovery coming the Northwestern University could make solar cells embeddable in clothes and various fabrics. It involves changing tin, an important element of solar cells, with carbon nanotubes, considered more flexible and efficient. For a solar cell to be transparent and still function, it has to have several layers, of which a transparent [...]

Japanese Green Ferrite Solar Cell 100 Times More Powerful Than Any Silicon-Based

Posted by Mike Sandru in Solar Power on September 20, 2011

A team of professors and students from the Okayama Graduate School of Science and Technology led by Professor Naoshi Ikeda has built a unique solar cell that uses an iron oxide substrate instead of silicon, making the cell not only cheaper, but, as the professor claims, 100 times more powerful than anything based on silicon. [...]

Australian Solar Power Reaches Grid Parity in Some Places, While Production Moves to China

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Green Policy, Solar Power on August 19, 2011

Others may not brag with it, but some parts of the New South Wales (NSW) in Australia can say they’ve achieved grid parity and even more – meaning that solar power got cheaper then coal-fired power – a proof subsidy plans can work to achieve the ultimate goal: giving up on fossil fuels. Andrew Blakers, [...]

MIT Researchers Invent Solar Cells That Transform Heat Into Electricity

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power, Thermoelectric on July 28, 2011

If you thought photovoltaics can only get energy from the Sun, then you were wrong. An MIT team of researchers have invented a device that produces electricity from heat. The process uses the photovoltaic effect as the middleman and is three times more efficient than the most efficient lithium ion batteries on market today.

Light Harvesting Nanoantennas Made With Plant DNA and Artificial Molecules

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in New Inventions, Solar Power on July 11, 2011

A University of Toronto research team has reported the first time construction of what they call “artificial molecules.” These molecules have been inspired by photosynthesis and use nanotechnology to harvest sunlight.

New Colloidal Quantum Dots Solar Cells Gather Visible and Infrared Light

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on June 27, 2011

A solar cell developed at the Unversity of Toronto, Canada, is able to harvest both visible and infrared light and can theoretically achieve efficiencies of up to 42 percent. Their tandem solar cell is based on colloidal quantum dots (CQD), and the team has been led by Professor Ted Sargent, a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Solar Powered Nokia C1-02 Cellphone Tested Around The World

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Green Electronics, Solar Power on June 23, 2011

Nokia is seemingly testing a solar powered phone these days in different conditions from different parts of the globe. They put four of their C1-02 devices, each having an attached solar panel and sent them to Kenya, the Arctic Circle, Sweden and to a boat on the Baltic Sea.

SunPower's Solar Panels Enter The Guinness Book

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Solar Power on June 20, 2011

I didn’t know the Guiness Book awards solar cell efficiencies lately. This story I read on Cleantechnica tells how SunPower, “the most popular solar panels company in California,” got into the Guinness Book for providing people with “the most efficient commercially available photovoltaic modules on the market.”