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Researchers Develop Inexpensive Solar Panels
Researchers have developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on flexible plastic sheets. Someday homeowners will be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers, say the inventors from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or billboard to create their own power stations. "Imagine some day driving in your hybrid car with a solar panel painted on the roof, which is producing electricity to drive the engine," says author Somenath Mitra of NJIT. . . Bring it on. There are millions of us waiting. JULIA WHITTY
This one's a bit beyond my abilities. Perhaps I'm just having a hard time imagining my inkjet printing the circuitry to get the power off the paper. Or perhaps I'm having difficulty imagining the power on the paper in the first place.
Would someone with an electrical engineering background please verify that this is:
a) theoretically possible.
b) real.
c) coming soon to an inkjet near me.
Thanks much!! And, this is really cool if it's really real.
Not even close to reality. NJITs technology is one of several being touted as a cost reduction solution to present solar cell technology.
Exfoliation produces lighter, cheaper solar cells - 13 July 2007 Source: New Scientist Tech
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn12257
This is only a theoretical possibility at the moment and the press release by NJIT seems to be more a plug for more research grants than anything else. This PR has been widely commented on Digg.com, click here for some interesting comments: http://digg.com/design/Researchers_develop_inexpensive_easy_process_to_p...
"Imagine some day driving in your hybrid car with a solar panel painted on the roof, which is producing electricity to drive the engine,"
Even if the panels were %100 efficient on the brightest cloud free summer day I dont think it would be enough to drive very far even with an 8 hour charge under ideal conditions. There just is not enough surface area on the roof of a Prius.
GreenPeace Canada has undertaken a mandate to install a million solar roofs in Canada in 2007.
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/ontario-s-climate-crisis-the
Question is: why only GreenPeace?
& why are American & Canadian citizenry more interested in FUEL sources than personal energy independence?
which would YOU rather have?:
a clean, sustainable energy source?
**or** a utility that can be withheld or maintained by a corporate entity?
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WOW...this sounds great....what's the catch?...I suspect the ink cartridges with run in the range of $300.00 to $500.00 each
Bring it on...A turbo-diesel powered Prius Plug-In Electric Hybrid with a solar panel paint job. You gotta love it.
Anyone who knows about cars would suspect that the energy generated by a solar roof would merely "augment" the fuel tank. Instead of 40 miles per gallon the car would get 42-50 miles per gallon depending on the state of the skies. If the energy and monetary cost of the panel is reasonable it would make a significant incremental difference in the energy costs of commuting.
IAccording to the article, cars aren't the only thing it would be usable on. Roofing for one. It sounds cheaper and easier to install than solar panels, though I don't know how the efficiency would compare. It could also be installed on walls, covering the outside of a house perhaps in addition to the roof.
And the solar panes could theoreticall be installed on the hood of the car, presuming it didn't cause the engine to overheat (that might make it unfeasible) Perhaps if it is transparent it could cover the windows too?
This one's a bit beyond my
This one's a bit beyond my abilities. Perhaps I'm just having a hard time imagining my inkjet printing the circuitry to get the power off the paper.