DIY Solar Panels World

Flexible Solar Panels

Flexible solar panels are made by depositing thin-film amorphous silicon on polymer substrates. It has to be thin, lightweight and flexible enough to be rolled up for storage. During the manufacturing process, individual solar cells are connected together as the doped semiconductor units are laid on the substrate. In the final process, the sheet of flexible solar panel is sealed with a protective, transparent material tough enough to withstand abrasions.

There are many applications for flexible solar panels. Being portable, they’re often used as a charger for gadgets like PDAs, mobile phones, laptops and walkie-talkies. They can also be used to power camping equipment, field communication radios and GPS systems. Many flexible solar panels are even integrated into architectural fabric and metal roofing.

Price-wise, amorphous silicon thin film solar cells can be cheaper than conventional crystalline cells. This is because they require less semiconductor material. Each thin film cell is 1-micrometer thick, as compared to an average of 150 to 200 micrometers for crystalline cells. The downside to this material is its inefficiency. While crystalline photovoltaic cells boast a credible 20% efficiency, most thin films are confined to a single digit efficiency percentage. But research to improve the efficiency of thin film photovoltaic cell is underway. By using a combination of photovoltaic materials, there is a possibility that thin films can convert more of the solar spectrum into electricity, thereby matching the efficiency of its crystalline cell cousin.

Flexible solar panels are sold in different shapes and sizes. A brief search on the Internet reveals a wide range of products that these solar panels are currently utilized for. Manufacturers like Silicon Solar, Inc and PowerFilm develops and manufactures flexible solar panels for consumers and businesses alike. And as the popularity of solar panels increase in recent years, more start-ups are also jumping into the renewable energy bandwagon to serve a host of new converts recently found in the market. Xunlight from Toledo, Ohio, is an example of such new companies.

In recent years, engineers found a way to increase the lifespan and efficiency of solar cells. A layer of material is coated on the transparent, protective layer to convert ultraviolet radiation into longer-wavelength visible light. This reduces solar cells’ exposure to harmful radiation, prolonging their lifespan. Incidentally, this technique also helps convert more sunlight into electricity.

As technology improves, flexible solar panels can hopefully capture more of the solar spectrum to turn them into useful electrical energy. By then, this technology will gradually replace bulkier crystalline solar cells in many applications.

"You Are About To Learn DIY Solar Panel Secrets That Most Hobbyists Will NEVER Know About…"

If you’re interested in building solar panels that work (and save heaps on electricity bills), you'll do very well with some valuable tips here:

=> Click Here to Download Your FREE Bonus
"How To Build A Solar Panel" eBook <=

Related posts:

1. Solar Panel Battery — The Basics A solar panel battery is made up of individual...
2. Solar Shingles — What Are These? At one glance, solar shingles look exactly like common...
3. Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels – Electricity Conversion From Sunlight With solar panels, electricity is produced when a phenomenon...
4. How To Buy Solar Panels When you buy solar panels, you need to look...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.