Advances in photovoltaic technology

We were hoping to get a solar installation done by now, but we ran out of money.
While we continue to save up, I read today that solar panel costs could significantly come down.
Breakthrough in solar panel manufacture promises cheap energy within a decade - Science - News - The Independent
But it will be a number of years.
Anyone else see this?
How are the costs and efficiency levels of domestic solar panels advancing?

Imagine, then, what will happen if developments such as the one described in the new research come to market

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Big IF and big WHEN

As they say it'll take about 10 years to come to market, in the meantime a whole host of other developments are also going on, don't hold your breath

The race is on to optimize solar energy performance with more efficient silicon photovoltaic panels, dye-sensitized solar cells and thermodynamic solar plants. And you can always rely on the Germans to have at least one finger on the pulse. At Michael Grätzel’s laboratory, they have found a way of producing hydrogen fuel from sunlight and water. By combining a pair of solar cells made with a mineral called perovskite and low cost electrodes, they have obtained a 12.3 percent conversion efficiency from solar energy to hydrogen, a record using earth-abundant materials as opposed to rare metals. Everyone is pursuing the same goal. To produce a maximum amount of electrons from sunlight. They have also developed methods for generating fuels such as hydrogen through solar water splitting. To do this, they either use photoelectrochemical cells that directly split water into hydrogen and oxygen when exposed to sunlight, or they combine electricity-generating cells with an electrolyzer that separates the water molecules. Another name to look out for is Jingshan Luo, he’s been able to obtain a performance so spectacular with a device that converts the energy diffused by the sun on perovskite absorbers into hydrogen, that he will make a name for himself. They have nicknamed it “Bottled sun”. Obviously, the biggest disadvantage faced by renewable energy is the requirement for it to be used at the time it is produced and hydrogen makes storage possible. You can then burn it to produce electricity or heat whenever you want and only produce water vapour as a waste product. Resistance is futile, it’s the future!

Kamikaze said:

The race is on to optimize solar energy performance with more efficient silicon photovoltaic panels, dye-sensitized solar cells and thermodynamic solar plants. And you can always rely on the Germans to have at least one finger on the pulse. At Michael Grätzel’s laboratory, they have found a way of producing hydrogen fuel from sunlight and water. By combining a pair of solar cells made with a mineral called perovskite and low cost electrodes, they have obtained a 12.3 percent conversion efficiency from solar energy to hydrogen, a record using earth-abundant materials as opposed to rare metals. Everyone is pursuing the same goal. To produce a maximum amount of electrons from sunlight. They have also developed methods for generating fuels such as hydrogen through solar water splitting. To do this, they either use photoelectrochemical cells that directly split water into hydrogen and oxygen when exposed to sunlight, or they combine electricity-generating cells with an electrolyzer that separates the water molecules. Another name to look out for is Jingshan Luo, he’s been able to obtain a performance so spectacular with a device that converts the energy diffused by the sun on perovskite absorbers into hydrogen, that he will make a name for himself. They have nicknamed it “Bottled sun”. Obviously, the biggest disadvantage faced by renewable energy is the requirement for it to be used at the time it is produced and hydrogen makes storage possible. You can then burn it to produce electricity or heat whenever you want and only produce water vapour as a waste product. Resistance is futile, it’s the future!

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Will the race to gather the maximum amount of energy from the sun be won by splitting water for hydrogen storage and use?
Would that mean there would need to be some machine in the home which converts hydrogen back to water to produce electricity? What form would that machine take?

Spinball said:

Will the race to gather the maximum amount of energy from the sun be won by splitting water for hydrogen storage and use?
Would that mean there would need to be some machine in the home which converts hydrogen back to water to produce electricity? What form would that machine take?

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Same as you'd have in hydrogen fueled electric cars, a fuel cell

In reality we are still 2 years away even for the early adopters.

Check out "Crossing the Chasm" Geoffrey A Moore

We are currently in the innovators phase.

Spinball said:

Will the race to gather the maximum amount of energy from the sun be won by splitting water for hydrogen storage and use?
Would that mean there would need to be some machine in the home which converts hydrogen back to water to produce electricity? What form would that machine take?

Click to expand...

You got to understand, there’s no future for us on Earth. Therefore, a lot of this stuff is being developed to allow us to go into space. We have no future if we don’t go into space! If we are to survive as a species, it’s inevitable that we will have to leave this planet. At some point we have to make that leap to find other resources. In the meanwhile, some of these innovations will filter through into daily life. I won’t bore you too much with the science but since hydrogen is the most abundant substance in the universe, it’s only logical that we should try and make the most of it. The big problem with photocells is the narrow range that various materials can deal with photons at anyone time. For example, one compound can convert 900nm but not 930nm photons. Secondly, any materials used have to be put together in a very exact and efficient manners. This requires control of chemistry at an atomic level, because many complex materials rearrange themselves spontaneously into configurations other than the ones we want to. Some scientists are developing batteries using bacteria’s such as Shewanella and Geobacter. Think of Frankenstein's monster!:biggrin: Unlike any other living thing on Earth, Shewanella and Geobacter use energy in its purest form. That should not come as a complete surprise since all life is just a flow of electrons. You eat sugars that have excess electrons, and you breathe in oxygen that willingly takes them. Our cells break down the sugars, and the electrons flow through them in a complex set of chemical reactions until they are passed on to electron hungry oxygen. In the process, cells make a molecule that acts as an energy storage unit. Moving electrons around is the key part. The molecules suck electrons out of everything we eat, keep them under control and carry them through the cells until they are dumped on to oxygen. That's the way we make all our energy and it's the same for every organism on this planet. Electrons must flow in order for energy to be gained. What’s so interesting about some bacteria is that they show that life can do away with sugary middlemen and handle the energy in its purest form. It’s the equivalent to humans sticking their fingers directly into a DC socket.

Tonight, enjoy your nightmare about your Frankenstein batteries that in the future will be providing you with electrickery!:biggrin:

Interesting....however, there's only one electron....

THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!


Oh no…I’ve been watching too much Highlander again…lol

Spinball said:

Will the race to gather the maximum amount of energy from the sun be won by splitting water for hydrogen storage and use?
Would that mean there would need to be some machine in the home which converts hydrogen back to water to produce electricity? What form would that machine take?

Click to expand...

we produce hydrogen... some nice efficient methods are getting developed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsWUoCxjXJQ
to produce electricity we dont convert hydrogen back to water, its not why we separated it from water in first place.
we burn it.
it burns very well and clean in presence of oxygen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZDJh6i4xg4

convert a generator, or maybe a bigger power plant to burn hydrogen instead of coal,
you can store that hydrogen in tanks, feed it into a power plant in night time when sun goes down.
needs a bit more of technological advance but has to happen at some point.

Those links were illuminating thanks

What's the news with making them cheaper and safer... I don't do solar, didn't think there was danger
Apart from that solar dish in the us cooking a flock of birds

Also.the first video post, that is old.. Says 1891 behind it ;P

In places like Africa, local tribeswomen have the opportunity to burn their sausages on Solar barbecues. They would be no good over here with the lack of sunshine. We would have wasted away before the spare ribs are ready for turning.:drool5:

amlu said:

to produce electricity we dont convert hydrogen back to water, its not why we separated it from water in first place.
we burn it.

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...thereby producing water. 2H2 + O2 => 2H2O