Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Home Improvement – Solar Technology

Solar energy panel systems have always been criticised as lumpish and repulsive. New solar technology is beginning to make such feedback a thing of the past. Solar Advancement While everybody agrees solar electricity is a clean, inexpensive power source, there has often been one problem. The solar panel systems inclined to be large and rather lumpish. Overtly, they do not add to the wonderful thing about a home. While solar cell designs have got better over the years, a new development concerning shingles is getting a large amount of attention. Photovoltaic shingles are a major design discovery for people that have a distaste for big solar energy panel systems. These shingles are, well, shingles. The replace the shingles on a roof, but have the physical look of a regular roof.

The technology discovery that makes this advanced technology possible is the discovery of thin film photovoltaic cells. Known as amorphous silicon thin amalgamate technology, the designers basically stepped back from standard solar energy panel designs and did some thinking. What they realized is the materials employed in panels weren't the only ones that would be used. Without getting overly technical, the design team came up with a solution where better cells may be built on a steel substrate. Each super thin cell was customized to capture different spectrums of the sunlight. When layered on top of one another, they became very efficient at manufacturing power. The final result's a system that may sit without delay on the roof of a home or building, is better than regular solar cells and much more appealing from a visible perspective. If you are excuse for not using solar during the past was the clumsy system, you want to reconsider solar.

Will this advanced technology become the discovery we've been waiting for in solar power? It already is if you consider just the following : one. The US military is building a solar powered community using it. 2. Three. Habitat for Humanity is using the system on lots of the houses it builds. Four. Lockheed Martin is messing with the technology as a power source for high altitude flights. With energy costs exploding, solar represents the optimum answer to decreasing our reliance on limited oil and natural gas resources. Luckily, the sun will provide free power for the foreseeable future.