The Exciting Future of Thin Film Solar Cells

The Exciting Future of Thin Film Solar Cells

As the number of humans in the world continues to grow exponentially, scientists are finding exciting new ways to more efficiently harvest electricity from the sun using thin film solar cells. Physicists have stated that the amount of sunlight that strikes the Earth in one hour is enough to accommodate all of humanity's energy needs for an entire year. The challenge is how to best collect this energy and use it to our advantage.

Nanotechnologists have been working on new technologies that use materials such as semiconducting plastics, metal, glass and nanoparticles to absorb the sun's energy. Thin film solar cells got their name because they are only a couple of nanometers to tens of micrometers thick. They can literally be printed off the press like sheets of paper and are thus very convenient to produce and then cut to the correct length. As these emerging technologies continues to evolve, they are becoming so efficient that they require considerably less material than traditional silicon photovoltaic cells. Thin film panels are also more resistant to the sun's heat and produce more energy with sharp temperature increases.

Another advantage is versatility. Thin film solar cells can be integrated and or attached to almost any surface imaginable, including metal, glass, paper, roofs, clothing and luggage. They can actually be used in place of shingles for roofs and blend in completely with the rest of the house while generating power for electricity. They are also much lighter than traditional crystalline photovoltaic modules. Flexible thin film solar panels are cheap and lightweight and can be folded around anything. Thus, almost everything can become powered by the sun. Car manufacturers are even starting to consider using photovoltaic technologies to help power their vehicles. Using this technology, these cells could be installed on the car roof, the trunk, and even the doors. This will be a giant step in limiting our dependence on fossil fuels and spewing less pollution into the environment.

Portable thin film solar panel chargers are already available in the marketplace. These chargers can be used to power up devices such as MP3 players, cell phones, cameras, and more. By owning one of these chargers, your electronic device can always be charged wherever you go, and you won't need to plug it in to a wall socket to power it up. Some of these solar panels are also able to function in shady areas where there is not always a constant stream of direct sunlight.

It is important to keep in mind that thin film solar panels are still emerging technologies. Their efficiency ratings are still in the process of catching up to that of traditional polycrystalline collecting modules. However, they have a very bright future and efficiency improvements are made almost all the time.

Like any new technology, this industry is experiencing many changes and is in a constant state of development and improvement. In particular, developers and manufacturers face the challenge of creating efficient products while also keeping them affordable for general use. However, due to the positive direction in which this new evolution in green energy is going, some experts say that conventional solar cells will eventually be completely pushed out by this new technology. This is because thin film solar cells use less material, cost less to make, can be integrated into many different products, used for many different applications and require less energy to manufacture. Ultimately, they will used to power almost everything that requires energy in our everyday lives. Moving forward, thin film solar cell technology offers the promise of providing low cost clean energy for all.

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