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SOLAR ENERGY
Solar Energy Information: Learn about Solar Energy, Solar Energy installations, Solar Energy Benefits to our environment and where to find Solar Energy Systems and products
 Currently, solar panels are a viable alternative energy source, both environmentally and economically. Grid-tie systems allow you to put up solar panels, and feed excess power back into the power grid. This isn’t an act of charity on your part. Utilities are required to pay you for the power you put into the system. Another advantage of staying connected to the grid is that you won’t have to have an elaborate in-home battery system to store energy for nights and cloudy days. You can draw on grid power during those times, and the power will be subtracted from the amount you put into the system.
There are also off-grid and mobile solar power options. If a home is equipped with a battery charging system and sufficient solar panels, it can cut ties completely with the power grid and become self sufficient. Home wind turbines can make a useful augmentation to solar panels in an off grid system, since cloudy days accompany storm fronts, which create wind. This ensures that one of your power sources is always functioning at optimal capacity, keeping your power on. Going off-grid is an especially appealing notion for RV owners, because it greatly enhances the range and camping ability of their RVs.
Solar accessories can range from multimeters, inverters, controllers, diodes, batteries and any other components that can be used with your solar powered energy system.
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The future of solar power revolves around thin film technology. Thin films have been used for centuries; one of the first applications of them was the use of a thin layer of silver behind glass to create a mirror. Today the most common use of thin films is in computing, where they can be used to create extremely densely packed circuits.
For solar panels however, thin films allow manufacturers to use much less silicon than a crystal array requires to create a solar panel. The resulting panel is much less efficient than comparable crystalline silicon solar cells (which are the traditional style); but it is much less expensive as well. It also has applications that the traditional solar cell cannot match. Imagine having the exterior glass of an office tower tinted, not with a mere darkening agent, but with a microfilm layer of solar panels that turned the entire exterior of the building into a clean electricity generating device. The glass would still be reflective from the outside and translucent from inside, it would just generate electricity as well. The same concept could be used for residential building exteriors, and even vehicle paints.
Another interesting application of the thin film technique is a multi-junction photovoltaic cell. This version of a solar panel utilizes multiple thin films of different substances to harness a much wider range of the sun’s light to create electricity. In fact, a recent test cited a conversion rate of over 60% utilizing this technology. Thus thin film could both open up new markets in solar power and increase the efficiency of solar panels significantly.
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