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A History Of Solar Cells : How Technology Has Evolved Though solar power as we know it is no more than 60 years old, the discoveries that led to the solar cell began nearly 200 years ago. These discoveries about the properties of light and conductivity have made solar power what it is today. To help you better understand how solar cells came to be, we’ve provided a timeline of the discoveries and inventions that led to their creation. 1839: PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECT IS DISCOVERED French scientist Edmond Becquerel first discovered the photovoltaic effect in 1839. This process occurs when light is absorbed by a material and creates electrical voltage. Most modern solar cells use silicon crystals to attain this effect. 1873–1876: SELENIUM’S PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY IS DISCOVERED English electrical engineer Willough by Smith discovered the photo-conductivity of selenium, meaning it becomes electrically conductive when it absorbs light. Three years later, William Grylls Adams and Richard Evans Day learned that selenium could produce electricity from light without heat or moving parts that could easily break down. This discovery proved that solar power was easy to harvest and maintain, requiring fewer parts than other energy sources — such as coal-fired plants. 1883: FIRST SOLAR CELL IS CREATED New York inventor Charles Fritts created the first solar cell by coating selenium with a thin layer of gold. This cell achieved an energy conversion rate of 1–2%. Most modern solar cells work at an efficiency of 15–20%. 1887: THE PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT IS OBSERVED German physicist Heinrich Hertz first observed the photoelectric effect, where light is used to free electrons from a solid surface (usually metal) to create power. Contrary to expected results, Hertz found this process produced more power when exposed to ultraviolet light, rather than more intense visible light. Albert Einstein later received the Nobel Prize for further explaining the effect.Modern-day solar cells rely on the photoelectric effect to convert sunlight into power. 1953–1956: SILICON SOLAR CELLS ARE PRODUCED COMMERCIALLY Physicists at Bell Laboratories discovered that silicon is more efficient than selenium, creating the first practical solar cell — now 6% efficient. This discovery led to solar cells capable of powering electrical equipment. In 1956, Western Electric began selling commercial licenses for its silicon PV technologies, but the prohibitive costs of silicon solar cells keep them from widespread market saturation. 1958: SOLAR ENERGY IS USED IN SPACE After years of experiments to improve the efficiency and commercialization of solar power, solar energy gained support when the government used it to power space exploration equipment. The first solar-powered satellite,Vanguard 1, has traveled more than 197,000 revolutions around Earth in the 50 years it has been in orbit. This application paved the way for more research to decrease costs and increase production. 1970S: RESEARCH DRIVES COSTS DOWN As oil prices rose in the 1970s, demand for solar power increased. Exxon Corporation financed research to create solar cells made from lower-grade silicon and cheaper materials, pushing costs from $100 per watt to only $20–$40 per watt. The federal government also passed several solar-friendly bills and initiatives and created the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 1977. 1982: THE FIRST SOLAR PARKS ARE CREATED Arco Solar built the first solar park — basically a solar power plant — in Hesperia, California, in 1982. This park generated 1 megawatt, or 1,000 kilowatts per hour, while operating at full capacity. This could power a 100-kilowatt lightbulb for 10 hours. In 1983, Arco Solar built a second solar park in Carrizo Plains, California. At the time, it was the largest collection of solar arrays in the world, containing 100,000 PV arrays that generated 5.2 megawatts at full capacity. While these plants fell into disarray with oil’s return to popularity, they demonstrated the potential for commercial solar power production. 1995: RETRACTABLE RV SOLAR PANELS CREATED Solar research continued to expand into other commercial industries: Thomas Faludy filed a patent in 1995 for a retractable awning with integrated solar cells. This was one of the first times solar cells were used in recreational vehicles. Today, this feature is a popular way to power RVs. 1994–1999: PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERSION REACHES NEW LEVELS In 1994, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed a new solar cell from gallium indium phosphide and gallium arsenide that exceeded 30% conversion efficiency. By the end of the century, the laboratory created thin-film solar cells that converted 32% of the sunlight it collected into usable energy. 2005: DIY SOLAR PANELS BECOME POPULAR As technology and efficiency of solar cells have increased, residential solar power has become more popular. DIY solar panels started hitting the market in 2005 and have become more prevalent with each new year. Today, there are many ways to make your own solar panels, from putting together a solar panel kit to planning a solar array. 2015: FLEXIBLE PRINTED SOLAR PANELS HIT THE MARKET Solar cells as thin as paper can now be manufactured using an industrial printer. They have 20% power conversion efficiency, and a single strip can produce up to 50 watts per square meter. This is great news for the 1.3 billion people in developing countries, as the strips are flexible and inexpensive to produce. 2016: SUNLESS SOLAR POWER IS DISCOVERED A research team from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Australian National University discovered new properties of nano-material. One of these properties is called magnetic hyperbolic dispersion, which means the material glows when heated. If combined with thermo-photo-voltaic cells, it could turn heat into electricity without the need for sunlight. Solar power has come a long way in the past 200 years, from observing the properties of light to finding new ways to convert it into power. This technology shows no signs of slowing down — if anything, it is advancing at an unprecedented rate. Stay up to date on the latest solar news and advances to decide if solar power is right for you.
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Most of the time we receive very basic inquiry like
1. What size of solar Rooftop needed for them 2. What is the expected generation 3. What is the space required 4. What is the cost estimate 5. What is the return etc. Sharing a simple tool for all such preliminary FAQ's, do iterations all by yourself at one page. You can check your daily energy need and to match what is the Solar capacity needed customized for Indian customers. It tries to answer most FAQ's in one page handy for your iteration in very simple steps. Try it out and do share your feedback. Check this link : http://photonergy.weebly.com/contact.html Thanks for the suggestions shared with few of our readers enabling us to workout this tool last year. It will be our pleasure to upgrade it and bring next version meeting new level of expectations. Happy surfing, stay in touch. Team - Design Board, Antriksh Photonergy. Disclaimer : This is only a awareness tool for academic purpose and not intended for any commercial use. All rights are reserved by the author and any unauthorized use, duplication or any commercial application is not allowed. Author doesn't guarantee any information shared and user are suggested to take a formal proposal before making any progress. We are now heading towards 100 smart cities in next 5 years throughout India strengthened by commitment of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi.
This modernization effort is likely to improve quality of life with sustainability & public accountability, avenue for new jobs and investment, partnerships coming from global industry and government. For its Success trying to analyses present scenario and listing below few critical concerns to be addressed Smart Vision : Define strategic goal It’s imperative that each Indian smart city bring a consolidated vision & action document towards basic infrastructure with clear projections of expected citizens (quality & quantity) in next 10-20-50-100 years, their livelihood, life style needs i.e. a strategic plan for growth with clear technological deployments to deliver on those goals towards :
Smart Governance : One stop authority So far global best practices around smart cities are in developed cities having enough resources and expertise to balance public interest & business partners while the developing countries like India has challenges for smart cities need to focus first on the basics:
Delegation of power from federal government to the states and then to the cities and local municipalities is appreciable but this is critical for the success of the smart cities initiative which demands urgent significant unified political reforms similar to success of Delhi Metro. It’s preferred that an independent central nodal setup is created (SPV's) is empowered enough to take all required decisions. Smart innovation : Customized Smart cites in India are mostly retrofitting i.e. these are improvements within an existing setups which demands great level of coordination, brainstorming with proper team of experts within government & planners before implementation. Environment, Culture, Sources of income, infrastructure and city basics are very different in each city. Size of economy and population doesn’t match the ratio. For example Smart city of Rajasthan, Ajmer’s local economy is based on Agriculture industry while Smart city of UP, Allahabad is small-scale manufacturing and smart city of Orisaa, Vizag has trade and transport as largest component. If economy of Allahabad is twice of Ajmer or Vizag is twice of Allahabad population may not be in same ratio. It’s important to recognize the socio-economic differences between each city and then customize technology solutions which are viable, affordable, necessary & best suited. Smart Intelligence : balancing Public interest with Technology & Solution providers For global smart city services providers this Indian initiative brings new investment opportunity in a rapidly growing market. The global smart cities market is estimated to touch $1.5 trillion by 2020, having enormous potential for experts, analysts, public and private firms to rush to India bringing smart intelligence with their solutions, technologies or ideas on digital infrastructure and efficient management of Data, information, energy, water, Waste, Buildings, Mobility & transport etc. If local governments is not geared up to properly define & defend public interest then the “smart” city is just the deployment of technologies pushed by influential provider entities because the interest of any technology provider firms in a smart city is to push sales of their product or services. It’s very important to have bottom-up approach to deliver the true promise of smart cities i.e. to localize and innovate with deep understanding of local realities and not just copying technology to smart city which may fail to deliver on expectations. The government entities has appointed external consultants, large firms with global know how to suggest planning but within their teams they also need to induct internal experts who can vouch and audits these recommendations. Authorities either need to create pool of talent from within or invite from outside experts dedicated to the work. The Indian revolution in telecom, Metro, AADHAR etc. is the example where talent pool of experts been inducted in public system to bridge the gap in expertise. Success will be there by holistic view & customized innovations, addressing unique challenges within Indian cities and learning lessons from worldwide efforts in this direction balancing industry’s ambitions for effective uptake and public desires for local impact. Feedback is welcomed: Smart Consulting-Smart City & renewables, Antriksh Photonergy, New Delhi, [email protected] |
AuthorMr YK Jain is Energy optimist and well known for contribution to Renewable Industry in last 20 years. CategoriesArchives
January 2017
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