

Harnessing the phenomena could greatly improve yields









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RE: Wasted effort
By foolsgambit11 on 12/18/2009 1:24:46 AM , Rating: 2
Exactly. There are two kinds of efficiency that need to be addressed in PV cells to increase their practicality. The point of this line of research is not so much to increase traditional definition of efficiency (the percentage of the total available energy captured), but rather to increase the Watts per unit material.

None the less, total energy captured is an important metric. If houses in temperate climates can provide all the electricity they need (aside from heating, maybe) from solar cells on the roof of their house, that's a big win.

Storage is an issue as well, though. There are several pieces of the puzzle that need to be put together before photovoltaics is ready for prime time.

On my boat, I use a combination of solar and wind power for all of my electricity needs - scant though they are. It was great. I can even power a fridge about 90% of the time. But most of the power comes from the wind generator. The only downside is that it's more apt to need repairs due to the moving parts.

