Solar Energy is going to take over. There I said it.

How much was consumption total was required to install and the rest of the infrastructure used to produce that panel? So far the total system efficiency for solar is very poor.
 
When these things are made cheap enough, it gives a whole new meaning to "OFF GRID GROW" also, I can foresee anyone invested into power companies, sending assassins to kill the people engineering and inventing this stuff, if they cant be paid off... Just like with gasoline.
 
No, but why would you assume this new system has the same efficiency of old systems?

It's not just the panel, the manufacturing process has to be taken into account. That uses resources for mining, processing the raw materials, employees (they use energy too), and transportation during all steps. Unless those requirements have been solved, it doesn't matter how much the panels themselves produce.

It's the same problem when it comes to hybrid vehicles. I'm not going to be convinced unless I see a complete picture, not just the panels.
 
This system has a conversion efficiency of 0.8...that's impressive.
The rabbit brings up a good point, though. What is the ROEI ? That elaborate setup can power what exactly? The computer and equipment?
 
When these things are made cheap enough, it gives a whole new meaning to "OFF GRID GROW" also, I can foresee anyone invested into power companies, sending assassins to kill the people engineering and inventing this stuff, if they cant be paid off... Just like with gasoline.

Oil companies are currently heavily invested in alternative energy. But I think that's just to fool us so conservatives bring about Water World and gasoline becomes worth more than gold!

http://www.bp.com/en/global/alternative-energy.html
 
I tracked down the source of this research, I believe (wasn't difficult :lol: )

first-ongoing-projects.jpg

Low-cost solar energy capture. The market for solar energy has stalled due to the high cost and low efficiency of current technology. Conventional solar cells do not produce power efficiently enough to justify the cost of investment. This project seeks to develop low-cost, thin-film silicon photovoltaics with high efficiency that could be used to realize the full potential of solar energy. Research indicates that there is a potentially lower-cost approach to manufacturing silicon photovoltaics by utilizing layers of thin-film silicon in an enhanced cell design.

http://www.egnc.gov.eg/egnc/research/ongoing-projects/thin-film-silicon-photovoltaics

That's a very interesting design...excuse me while I go preheat the oven :lol:
 
And that unit provided 25kw. Pretty impressive for a satellite dish. lol

The entire receiver combines hundreds of chips and provides 25 kilowatts of electrical power. The photovoltaic chips are mounted on micro-structured layers that pipe liquid coolants within a few tens of micrometers off the chip to absorb the heat and draw it away 10 times more effective than with passive air cooling.
 
With such a high concentration and a radically low cost design scientists believe they can achieve a cost per aperture area below $250 per square meter, which is three times lower than comparable systems. The levelized cost of energy will be less than 10 cents per kilowatt hour (KWh). For comparison, feed in tariffs for electrical energy in Germany are currently still larger than 25 cents per KWh and production cost at coal power stations are around 5-10 cents per KWh.
 
And that unit provided 25kw. Pretty impressive for a satellite dish. lol
Indeed.
I still wait for the cost of a system to decrease, so that I/ people can justify the expense and/or afford to pay for it without financing or leasing.
 
Ummmm.......0.8 is nothing boys,

There are some 20% proofs in the Literature, today, I agree that solar can take over, then. But, it is a long commercial slog to get to consumers and Companies will buy up patents and sit on them.

No law against that. But, this is under the radar now and everybody is for it, even me. An important, well funded breakthrough Company, can actually break through the commercial and lobby-against, mess.

But, leap frog means, home fuel cells will be the competition,

We will get to high-tech house paint that powers a house, before long. But, will the hydro/coal/gas fired, Power Generators just pull an Enron and queer the deal for $$. If they can they will.
 
But, re-visiting the OPs point, This is a damn good idea. Cut down on the area and concentrate the solar, passively.

Good stuff.
 
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