Anyone who has ever used a solar-powered calculator has had "hands on" experience with Thin Film Photovoltaics. This technology has been with us for years, creating the strips which are used to power calculators
This photovoltaic technology has now evolved to a point where we can mass-produce solar panels, through the use of machines not unlike printing presses.
The substance which is used to print these photovoltaic panels is called "solar ink."
Solar ink can be made in any color. In fact, it is possible to design the inks in such a way as to make use of different parts of the light spectrum.
Solar presses "print out" thin panels called "solar rolls." These rolls are 13 inches wide, and can be up to 2400 feet long. They can be cut to the required size, after the solar ink has been printed onto them.
The electrical connections in the roll are automatically welded in with a laser. This procedure reduces the construction time to a considerably lower level than the time required to construct conventional solar panels.
Once this technology reaches a cost-effectiveness of $1.00 per watt, its prices will be competitive with those of conventional fossil fuels. TFPV is rapidly approaching this benchmark, and could possibly beat it in the near future.
Solar ink can be printed onto fabrics, plastics and metals, allowing one to design panels for a wide range of products, each tailored to their specific needs.
Thin and flexible photovoltaic solar panels are not as effective as solid panels. It's the fact that they are so much cheaper and lighter than conventional solar panels, that gives them the "edge".
The U.S. military is extremely interested in the development of thin-film technology, and spent 1.7 million dollars on one laboratory last year, in order to facilitate the development of Thin Film Photovoltaics. The US government is interested in implementing this technology in troop communication devices, which can reduce the heat signatures which are created when troops use conventional generators.
Solar shades and tents are now available, using thin film photovoltaics, which provide up to 2kw of power. This allows them to operate laptops, communication devices, TVs, and much more.
Thin film photovoltaic devices are now widely available on the consumer market.
A flexible solar panel weighing less than a pound is now capable of recharging a laptop. Due to its flexibility, it can be rolled up and transported easily.
Flexible photovoltaic panels are also a realistic source of emergency power. They are a handy and economic addition to emergency preparedness kits and wilderness survival kits.
Current research on Thin Film Photovoltaics is aimed at increasing the power output of these panels. If this research achieves this goal, there is a very good possibility that we will have solved the problem cheap and clean renewable energy.
The working mechanism behind the thin film solar panels is the same as their "thick" counterparts. Both use photovoltaic cells to collect sunlight and convert it into electric current through the interaction between the sunlight and the semiconductor material contained in the PV cells. The electricity thus generated can be put into use right away at your home or office. You can also store it with batteries to back up the power at nights or on cloudy days.
What exactly has enabled the thin film PV cells to work with the same efficiency but at a much reduced cost? The answer is in the semiconductor material. The first generation of solar panels, which are the thick ones that we are all used to seeing, use crystalline silicon as the semiconductor material. Each solar cell is produced on a different silicon wafer, one by one. This is an extremely labor-intensive process, which makes the solar panels unaffordable by mass people.
The semiconductor material used in thin film PV cells, as a contrast, is much thinner and cheaper. What's better, it can be mass produced with an automated system and thereby cuts down the labor work by 3 times. You can imagine that, with this reduced cost, more and more businesses will be encouraged to enter the manufacturing of solar panels. If this happens, the prices of solar panels will become even more affordable.
And, there are more exciting applications. With the solar cells being smaller, they are also more light-weighted and can be flexibly placed onto various smaller and light-weighted objects. For instance, the solar roof shingles are produced by covering the traditional asphalt roof with a layer of thin file solar cells. Now, instead of holding your solar panel with the large and heavy steel arrays, your solar roof can look almost the same as that of your neighbors.
Portable solar panels are another product of the thin film technology. They are being manufactured to power up just any type of electric appliances, from cell phones, GPS devices, MP3 players, to televisions and laptops. How handy it will be if you can install a solar panel on your backpack or in your purse? You can carry it wherever you go and charge your portable electric devices whenever needed.
If the thin film solar panels still sound to you like a complex technical innovation rather than an easily accessible daily product, don't worry. Think about the digital watches. They cost dearly a few decades ago, but can be purchased today at a very friendly price. This will be the future of our solar panels!
Both Anna Williams & Pam S Eisenberg are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Anna Williams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Environment, Health and Internet Marketing. Anna supports the use of solar power and alternative energy in order to create a cleaner future. For more information on clean energy, visit her website,