While roofs across the world sport photovoltaic solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity, a Duke University engineer believes a novel hybrid system can wring even more useful energy out of the sun's rays. Instead of systems based on standard solar panels, Duke engineer Nico Hotz proposes a hybrid option in … Continue reading
A new study sheds light on why the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, is more than 20 times hotter than its surface. The research, led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), may bring scientists a step closer to understanding the solar cycle and the Sun's impacts on Earth. The study uses satellite … Continue reading
Improved Hybrid Solar Collector Has Higher Efficiency, Longer Lifespan TU Delft student of Sustainable Energy Technology Stefan Roest developed a new type of hybrid solar collector with a higher efficiency and a longer lifespan than the current hybrid systems for his graduation project. A hybrid solar collector is a … Continue reading
A scientific advance in renewable energy which promises a revolution in the ease and cost of using solar cells, has been announced. A new study shows that even when using very simple and inexpensive manufacturing methods -- where flexible layers of material are deposited over large areas like cling-film -- efficient solar … Continue reading
Solar energy is becoming more attractive as oil and other types of conventional energy get ever more expensive. The solar market is booming as they continue to provide new solutions for all kinds of electronics. There is so much more available now than there was even ten years ago. If you own your home, then there is a lot … Continue reading
The three massive solar panels that will provide power for NASA's Juno spacecraft during its mission to Jupiter have seen their last photons of light until they are deployed in space after launch. The last of the Jupiter-bound spacecraft's panels completed pre-flight testing at the Astrotech payload processing facility in … Continue reading
TU Delft has revealed that the speed at which affordable solar panels are manufactured could be increased by a factor of ten -- and that this could be accomplished without any hindrance to the energy yield of the cells. This should in all probability produce a further decrease in the price of the cells, which are … Continue reading
Floating Solar Panels: Solar Installations on Water Most of the solar energy systems on the market today bare two major weaknesses: they require vast land areas in order to be built, and the costs related to solar cells fabrication and maintenance are high. A new technology is about to overcome these challenges and many … Continue reading
Inexpensive hydrogen for automotive or jet fuel may be possible by mimicking photosynthesis, according to a Penn State materials chemist, but a number of problems need to be solved first. "We are focused on the hardest way to make fuel," said Thomas Mallouk, Evan Pugh Professor of Materials Chemistry and Physics. "We are … Continue reading
Solar cells are made from semiconductors whose ability to respond to light is determined by their band gaps (energy gaps). Different colors have different energies, and no single semiconductor has a band gap that can respond to sunlight's full range, from low-energy infrared through visible light to high-energy … Continue reading