Solar Powered Christmas Lights
November 25th, 2009
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Christmas, Green Energy, Holiday, Household, Lighting, Powered, Solar, Solar Power, lights
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Sharp Triple Layer Solar Cell Sets New Efficiency Record
October 25th, 2009
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The gauntlet has been thrown down yet again in the solar cell efficiency arms race. This time Sharp comes up with a cell that can harvest 35.8% of available sunlight.
How do they do it? With a triple junction compound solar cell that uses three photo absorption layers made from elements like indium and gallium. I’ll leave it to the physical chemistry geniuses among you to explain exactly what that means in the comments.
You might have heard of efficiency ratings that climb into the 40% range. Sharp even lists one in their press release. To clarify, those are different tests. Apparently there’s a distinction made in efficiency ratings between concentrated and unfocused light. The more you know, right?
Don’t expect to be covering your home in these soon, they’re meant for use in satellites.
Efficiency, Energy, Power, Record, Research, Science, Sharp, Solar, solar cell, solar panel
Dell’s New Solar Parking Lot [Solar]
October 25th, 2009
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Think about how hot your car gets on a sunny day. Dell decided to harvest all that wasted energy by installing these solar panels in their parking lot. Now they’re keeping cars cool and putting that sunlight to good use.
The structure generates 130 kilowatts of solar power, enough to offset 145,000 lbs of greenhouse gas emissions annually. There are even charging terminals available for electric cars, but only two can be charged at a time. Seems like a pretty smart way to keep drivers comfortable and harvest some spare energy on the side.
Dell, Energy, Parking, Power, Solar, Solar Power, parking lot