Thin Solar Cells for cheaper Green Power
The increase in the amount of harmful gases from the burning of fossil fuels has led to an increase in global warming of the earth.
This is why people are now turning to alternative sources of renewable energy that can be harnessed to provide for the electricity and energy needs of mankind. One such source of energy is solar energy.
Though solar energy is available for free and aplenty around the world, the costs associated with setting up a solar energy unit proves to be too expensive for everyone to use solar energy to power their homes.
This is why scientists are looking for new ways of harnessing this solar energy so that it will be cheaper for everyone to use solar energy to power their homes.
Scientists have now working on developing light absorbing materials that can be used in the production of thin-layer photovoltaic (PV) cells. These PV cells are used for converting light energy into electricity. This research involves the scientists conducting experiments while using different materials that are less expensive and more sustainable for the manufacture of solar panels.
Presently, most of the solar panels are manufactured using thicker silicon based cells with compounds that contain indium which is a rare and expensive metal. As this is thick and is manufactured from a rare metal, this is an expensive option for producing solar energy. Researchers are therefore working on developing thin layered PV cells with the help of materials like copper indium diselenide and cadmium telluride.
Research is going on for the development of cheaper and more sustainable variants of these materials for producing solar energy.
In addition to this, researchers are looking for means of changing the growth of these materials so that they form a continuous structure. Having a continuous structure is essential for conducting energy trapped by solar panels, before this energy can be turned into usable electricity. With this, there is an improved efficiency in these thin-layered PV cells.
Researchers hope that the development of more affordable thin filmed PV cells will lead to a decrease in the cost of solar panels in the domestic market. With this, it is envisioned that the use of solar power is increased while the dependence on fossil fuels, reduced.
At present, only one hundredth of one percent of the home energy needs in UK is provided by solar energy.
With the new thin layered PV cells, solar panels will be made and fitted to roofs to help power homes. Any surplus electricity in a home will be fed back to the National Grid, for safety purposes. With this, cheaper fuel bills are also envisioned in the future.
So with the cost of the materials required to start harnessing solar energy being rather expensive, its uptake has slowed down considerably.
So researchers hope these thin solar cells will make it cheap enough for a consumer to be able to buy a solar energy system off the shelf, to use for their energy needs in the future.
Read more at www.thinksolarenergy.net
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