Innovation Of Solar Panels Can Lower Costs

If you want to roll faster, sometimes you have to re-invent the wheel.  Some inventions are just slightly more complicated than the wheel, AI robots, particle colliders, The Snuggie, the world is full of improvements.  As we forge forward in our innovation to improve the solar panel, we are always leveling up.  One major issue with making the switch to solar for many consumers is that the cost of solar isn't low enough or efficient enough to completely offset home energy costs plus the cost of a solar panel system.  In the search for lowering the price of solar to a very affordable point, our most celebrated minds in research and development are on this solar dilemma.  

Research And Development Of Solar Panels

Recently Arizona State University demonstrated that silicon-based tandem photovoltaic modules, which transform sunlight to power with higher efficiency than existing modules, will become a way for U.S. solar panel customers to find solar lower-costs and more significant benefits in the future.  They have recently published a paper that examines the fact that in its current state, solar panel technology is reaching its limit to transfer sunlight into usable energy efficiently. The main culprit of this limit of efficiency for the solar panel comes with its primary material used for construction, silicone.   Due to the expectation of this material to continue to dominate the industry of solar panel production, it is up to innovators to find new ways to squeeze energy productivity out of the classic material.  

Through the Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, launched in 2011, has the goal of making solar cost-competitive with traditional energy sources by 2020.  The program achieved its goal of $0.06 per kilowatt-hour a few years earlier than expected, whereby, a new target of $0.03 per kilowatt-hour by 2030 was made. Improving the effectiveness of photovoltaic modules is one way of reducing the cost of the solar electricity to this new target. If met, the goal is assumed to triple the amount of solar installed in the U.S. in 2030.  And, as this sounds exciting unfortunately during development, this type of technology will garner a higher price for solar of this kind.  However, like all new innovations, the higher the demand, the more efficient the supply chain becomes, and the price of solar of this type will fall.  Whereby, hopefully making this triple output solar panel system accessible to all solar panel buyers.  

New Solar Panels Will Help You Save Money

You may be asking yourself, just how does this new innovation work?  The
Tandem modules stack two complementary photovoltaic materials on top of each other.  A usual set-up would be a perovskite solar cell atop a silicon solar cell.  This design is perfect for best use the full spectrum of colors emitted by the sun.  When this panel set-up is working properly, it will exceed the efficiency of either primary solar cells on their own. 

The good news is that innovations like this will make the price of solar continue to fall in the long-run.  So many of us want to get the most out of solar, and the most efficient solar panels available will help our society move forward to become a renewable energy world.  

If you want to move into the future and join the solar revolution, or if you want to find out what solar panels are right for you, go to HahaSmart.com and try our price checker tool. You can see how much a system will cost, and how much you can save over the next 20 years. 

For more information relating to going solar, don't forget to visit our solar blog section for more handy guides and articles.