The 2010 Toyota Prius is going to have them. The White House is on its second set and Israel’s now in the gang.
It seems like electricity-bill-reducing solar panels are showing up just about everywhere these days, wherever next, space?!
But if a rooftop array seems out of the question, or something your neighbours would not appreciate, an announcement last week from “Konarka Technology” could be encouraging. The Massachusetts based company makes a special, flexible, organic photovoltaic cell that looks more like rolls of film than silicon panels. Furthermore, last week, they signed a deal with Florida’s “Arch Aluminum” to put their products into commercial building materials – even windows!
“Until today, aesthetic and performance concerns limited the ability of architects to use [integrated photovoltaic] technology in their designs,” Arch Aluminium CEO Leon Silverstein said in a statement.
“these organic photovoltaics aren’t very efficient at converting sunlight to electricity and won’t last as long as a rooftop solar panel, which is typically under warranty for 25 years. Konarka said late last year that it achieved 6 percent efficiency in its labs but that’s not yet available in its products.” Whereas: “A high-efficiency silicon solar cell, the most common cell material, can be over 20 percent.”
Still, the development is a step forward as solar power has long been criticised for its high cost. But as the Monitor’s Mark Clayton points out, this is hopefully beginning to change. If we give organic photovoltaics a few years to develop, their applications will start to expand & eventually reach the domestic market as well as domestic sized pockets as prices will drop.
However, as to the debate as to what is better: a home photovoltaic system, or just striving for good energy efficiency – the outcome depends very much on your own circumstance. And, if these tough economic times make it hard to consider any investments of such grand scale energy-efficient home improvements, perhaps smaller adjustments such as energy efficient light bulbs or a new boiler may be easier for the average UK tax payer to swallow.