What You Need To Before You Buy Solar Cells
Before you buy solar cells it's critical to understand what you are buying.
Many solar cells are manufactured for different processes to meet different needs.
Because there are a variety of solar cell types, you need to know the type of solar cell that will meet your solar needs.
Looking To Buy Solar Cells? The Guide To Finding The Right Solar Cell Type
The solar cells that are currently being manufactured range from commercial electrical generation to home residential generation to even more intriguing 'power at need' applications.
- A solar cell designed for one purpose may not be the best choice for others.
Looking To Buy Solar Cells, But Unsure Of Which Solar Cell Type To Buy? You Can Never Go Wrong With The Dual Layer Doped Silicon Solar Cell
The default solar cell type used for most commercial applications is the dual layer doped silicon solar cell.
These cells are single crystal sandwiches, and are assembled in layers.
- The topmost layer is an anti-reflective coating.
- The next layer is a silicon that's doped with phosphorous so that it has an extra electron on each crystal.
- The bottom layer is doped with boron, so it's short one electron.
How The The Dual Layer Doped Silicon Solar Cell Works
Sunlight comes in, knocks an electron loose from the top layer, and it transitions to the bottom layer where it fills a gap - this generates an electrical current.
- This basic mechanism - using solar photons to shake an electron loose where it goes to the other side of a semi conducting barrier - is used for all solar cells.
The silicon wafer solar cell type is the most common one because...
- It re-uses a lot of the technology needed to make microchips,
- It has a decent conversion efficiency, of about 14 to 17% depending on the tolerances used to make it.
In fact, when you buy a solar energy home power kit, most likely, the solar panels use dual layer doped silicon solar cell to generate the power.
When Looking To Buy Solar Cells At A Low Cost, Think Plastic
One recent solar cell technique is to make the low-cost solar cell cheap enough to be disposable. These are so-called plastic solar cell types, which are created on a plastic substrate by use of technology that's not too different from the way an ink jet printer works.
- Different layers of assorted semi-conducting compounds are placed in precise patterns and thicknesses, then sealed with another layer of anti-reflective coating and a spray on plastic.
- The benefit of this manufacturing technique is that solar cell types made this way are an order of magnitude cheaper than the standard silicon wafer process.
Why Buy Solar Cells That Are Plastic - The Appeal Of Plastic Solar Cells
What makes plastic solar cell types truly appealing is the way the process is evolving.
- There are near constant advances in the manufacturing techniques to both reduce costs, make them scale up to meet the demand for the product, and to gradually improve the conversion efficiency without increasing costs.
Right now, plastic cells are being tested on rolled laminated films...
- Meaning that it's possible to make solar cells that roll up like venetian blinds, or be incorporated into clothing or book bags.
If you've seen 'solar backpacks' with charging slots to recharge cell phones or MP3 players, you've seen some of these plastic solar cell types in actions.
- In fact, there are plans to put them in lots of unusual places in the future, like the skins of cars and vehicles.
Before You Buy The Solar Cell Plastic Types, Please Consider These Drawbacks.
The drawback of these solar cells is that they're anywhere from one third to one fifth as efficient as a silicon solar cell type.- This means you need at least three - and often five times - as much surface area devoted to them to get the same power draw.
That said, they're still going to be cheaper, and in environments where available space trumps the cost of putting in the conventional types, they make sense.
- They are also generally going to be lighter weight than a silicon solar cell type.
- They'll also be much less fragile - plastic solar cells are usually somewhat flexible; a silicon solar cell can chip or shatter like a piece of glass.
The Rugged Solar Cell Version: Another Possible Solar Cell To Consider When You Buy Solar Cells
Other solar cell types on the market include ruggedized ones that are meant to handle the sort of abuse you'd find in wind storms or hurricanes (yes, a solar cell can generate power in a hurricane), or ones that are easier to install.
When Looking To Buy Solar Cells, Don't Overlook Your Energy Storage Needs
One of the great untold truths about solar cell home power projects is that you still need to take that electrical current from the solar cell array and store it in a battery somewhere.
When You Buy Solar Cells, Also Consider The Integrated Solar Cell Option
More solar cells are now being built as both integrated solar cells and small lithium ion batteries.
- Some are also being built as shingles, with arrays of them set up.
- And, if you can follow the shingle-installation instructions, you get a solar powered roof with minimal installation, and one 'drop' to run the entire series of solar panels to your battery bank.
When You Buy Solar Cells, Factor In Your Constraints
As you can see, the type of solar cell you need depends largely on constraints like available space to put it, the budget needed to buy them and the total amount of power generated.
- The current market pressures make plastic solar cells competitive with silicon wafer cells, and if the advances continue, they're likely to pass the silicon cell type in about five to six years.
Here's to finding a way to bring more solar power into your family!
P.S. Here's a few more tips to help your solar power projects go smoothly...
Silicon Solar Power Cells: Getting The Biggest Bang For Your Buck |
||
Solar Cell Types And Manufacturing Changes - Shining A Light On What's Going On |
