While solar power has been around for many decades now, it is only in recent years that the technology has progressed to the point that they can be produced cost-effectively and using technology that makes solar power a real, viable alternative to other energy sources for the home consumer.
Modern high-tech solar panels are produced using different types of silicon. In a delicate operation, manufacturers take sheets of silicon in crystal form (a type of glass basically) and cut it into small, thin disks which are then highly polished and coated.
Following this the extremely thing silicon disks are coated with material that makes them react to sunlight in a way that releases an electrical charge – this is the process whereby the light is converted into electrical power.
They are then arranged carefully across the panel and covered by a protective sheet of glass. This gives us the end product that looks like the solar panel layout we are surely all familiar with by now. For those that are interested you can purchase most of the components that make up solar panels very easily so learning how to make a solar panel is actually quite simple these days.
With the amount of research and develpment happening in the solar energy industry right now amazing new production techniques and materials are always being developed. One ground-breaking development has been made by a team at Caltech (one of the leading technology innovation institutions in the world). Researchers there claim to have found a way to make solar panels using affordable plastics that are actually flexible.
Not only that but these new plastic, bendable solar panels are even better at absorbing light than traditional glass panels. This is amazing news because the more effecient panels are at converting light the more useful they are, combine this with better affordability and a more versatile material and this could really revolutionize how we use green energy. Imagine a car wrapped in flexible solar panels over every surface? It could be entirely powered by the sun – no gas, no emmissions, no need to plug it in and recharge from the power grid every single night.
Find out more about how solar panels are made with this youtube video:
Before we get too excited it is worth noting that this research is still in the very early stages, they have only made quite small panels out of this material so far – but the potential is amazing and there is a realistic chance that this new type of panel could enter commerical production at some stage and be used to cover our cars, the roof of your house, anywhere sunlight is found.