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The Ultimate Solar Panels Are Coming: Perovskites with 250% More Efficiency

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Solar panels have long been a popular way to harness renewable energy, but the technology behind them has been slow to evolve. That is, until now. Researchers have been working on a new type of solar panel technology that promises to be even more efficient than traditional silicon solar cells. The technology is called perovskite solar cells, and they have the potential to revolutionize the solar industry.

Perovskite solar cells are made using a unique material that has been found to be highly efficient at converting sunlight into electricity. This material is called perovskite, and it is a type of crystalline structure that has a special ability to absorb sunlight. When sunlight hits the perovskite material, it causes an electrical current to flow through the material, generating electricity.

The efficiency of perovskite solar cells is what makes them so exciting. While traditional silicon solar cells have an efficiency rate of around 20%, perovskite solar cells have the potential to reach efficiencies of up to 50%. That means they can produce up to 250% more electricity than traditional solar panels.

One of the major benefits of perovskite solar cells is their cost. Traditional silicon solar panels are expensive to produce because they require large amounts of high-quality silicon. Perovskite solar cells, on the other hand, can be made using inexpensive materials and can be produced using simple manufacturing processes. This means they have the potential to be much cheaper than traditional solar panels.

Another advantage of perovskite solar cells is their flexibility. Traditional silicon solar panels are rigid and bulky, making them difficult to install on certain surfaces. Perovskite solar cells, on the other hand, can be made into thin, lightweight sheets that can be easily attached to a variety of surfaces.

Despite their many benefits, perovskite solar cells are still in the early stages of development. While researchers have been able to achieve high efficiencies in the lab, the technology has yet to be commercialized. There are still many challenges that need to be overcome, such as making the cells more durable and stable over time.

Despite these challenges, many experts believe that perovskite solar cells have the potential to revolutionize the solar industry. With their high efficiency, low cost, and flexibility, they could make solar energy more accessible to people all over the world.

If you’re interested in learning more about perovskite solar cells, Saving With Solar is a great resource. They have a category dedicated to perovskite solar cells, where you can find news, articles, and information about the latest developments in this exciting technology.

In conclusion, perovskite solar cells represent a significant breakthrough in solar panel technology. With their high efficiency, low cost, and flexibility, they have the potential to make solar energy more accessible and affordable than ever before. While there are still challenges to overcome, the future looks bright for perovskite solar cells.

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Silicon Alternative for Solar Cells

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Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom and MIT, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Colorado School of Mines in the USA have been hard at work coming up with a silicon alternative for solar cells – given that silicon needs to have extremely high levels of purity and as such is very energy intensive to produce. After looking at options such as perovskite solar cells, the team have been using the “green element”, bismuth, in tests to create a low-cost solar cell.

Silicon Alternative for Solar Cells  – Research

The vast majority of solar cells we see on rooftops or as part of solar farms are created from silicon – a very efficient element in terms of its ability to convert light into energy, but also, as mentioned, expensive (and energy intensive) to produce.

There has been a lot of research on perovskite solar cells as a possible alternative, which we have reported on previously. Since lead is an integral part of the perovskite cell’s chemical structure, there’s still a search for a cheap, non-toxic material to create these cells – enter Bismuth.

Bismuth - A Silicon Alternative for Solar Cells
Bismuth – A Silicon Alternative for Solar Cells (source: Steve Penny, University of Cambridge via ScienceDaily.com)

According to ScienceDaily, Bismuth is a heavy metal like lead, but it is non toxic. Previous tests of Bismuth oxyiodide indicated that its efficiency may be too low for solar and it was also easily degraded in liquid electrolytes. However, further research has shown it may in fact be a suitable replacement for silicon in that it’s inexpensive to produce, can be very efficient in converting light into energy, and is eco-friendly.

“Bismuth oxyiodide has all the right physical property attributes for new, highly efficient light absorbers,” said co-author Professor Judith Driscoll, of the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy. “I first thought of this compound around five years ago, but it took the highly specialised experimental and theoretical skills of a large team for us to prove that this material has real practical potential.”

We’ll see how this exciting research progresses – but in the meantime if you want to read about the study in detail you can find this journal: Strongly Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance and Defect Physics of Air-Stable Bismuth Oxyiodide (BiOI). Advanced Materials, 2017; 1702176 DOI

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