Most photovoltaic solar cells can only hope to achieve about 15-20% efficiency. Much of the solar energy that strikes the cells is either reflected away or lost as heat energy. But solar collectors at Kalahari Greentech have achieved 74% efficiency. The energy company that specializes in solar technology and wind energy research had its solar [...]
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How do you keep your home warm during winter months? Many of us (yours truly included) have a natural gas powered forced air furnace. In fact 35 million American homes use some type of forced air heating system that runs on either propane, natural gas or fuel oil. But what if you could heat your [...]
New solar tracking technology from Envision Solar International has been installed as part of a solar parking array. Heliotropic solar panels track the movements of the sun as it travels across the sky during the day. Environ Solar’s Solar Tree® with EnvisionTrak™ has been directly incorporated into the structure of the parking lot canopy. This [...]
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Have you heard of GoSolarUSA‘s PREE™ technology, which uses wireless Internet signals and solar energy to continuously charge smart phones? PREE stands for “Providing Reliable Energy Everywhere.” And that’s just what it promises to do. You may not need to remember to plug in your smartphone ever again! According to the press release published on [...]
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At the University of Texas at Austin, researchers are working on solar technology that has the promise of increasing solar cell efficiency from the current 30% conversion rate, up to over 60%. Scientists have been advancing new research on semiconductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots, that can be used in photovoltaic panels to trap some of [...]
Demonstrating the creative genius that is often present in solar technology, researchers have discovered a way to pull solar power from pokeberries (also known as pokeweed). More precisely, a red dye that comes from the berries can be used to coat fiber-based solar cells. The dye absorbs and traps sunlight, allowing for a greater conversion [...]
The perfect source for solar power-fully illustrated. Solar Power (photovoltaics) is now a one-billion-dollar industry, and it-s poised to grow rapidly in the near future as more pressure is placed on limited fossil fuel resources and as advances in solar technology drive down the costs of residential solar systems. This book helps readers understand the [...]
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We’ve blogged about solar powered airplanes in recent months, but the interest has seemed to be with respect to their novelty, rather than a real potential way to address the massive amounts of fuel consumed by aircraft (and corresponding CO2 emissions). Recognizing the need for a variety of aircraft to serve multiple purposes, Virginia-based Aurora [...]
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The perfect source for solar power? Solar Power (photovoltaics) is now a one-billion-dollar industry, and it’s poised to grow rapidly in the near future as more pressure is placed on limited fossil fuel resources and as advances in solar technology drive down the costs of residential solar systems. This book helps readers understand the basics [...]
Three cheers for solar technology advancements! This latest one comes from sunny Caltech (you might know it as California Institute of Technology). Researchers there have created a new flexible solar cell, which takes long, thin silicon wires and embeds them into a polymer substrate. The result is an inexpensive solar cell that can efficiently convert [...]
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