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.

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