Natural Environment Blog

University of southern California experts show us a more powerful use of graphene solar panels.

Is it possible to imagine people powering their cellular phone or music/video device while jogging on a sunny day?

A University of Southern California team has produced flexible transparent carbon atom films that may have great potential for a new breed of solar cells.

In a paper recently published in the journal ACS Nano, researchers stated that organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells have been proposed as a way to create low cost energy due to their ease of manufacture, light weight, and compatibility with flexible substrates.

This work shows that graphene, an extremely conductive and highly transparent form of carbon consisting of atoms-thick sheets of carbon atoms, has high possibility to fill this role.

While graphene’s existence has been known for many years, it has only been studied extensively since 2004 because of the impossibility of manufacturing it in high quality and quantity.

The Study

The University of southern California team has produced graphene/polymer sheets ranging in sizes approximately 150 square centimeters that in turn can be used to create dense arrays of flexible organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells.

These organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices convert solar radiation to electricity, although not as efficiently as silicon cells.

The power provided by sunlight on a sunny day is approximately 1,000 watts per meter square, for every 1,000 watts of sunlight that hits a square meter area of the standard silicon solar cell, 14 watts of electricity will be generated, Organic solar cells are less efficient; their conversion rate for that same 1,000 watts of sunlight in the graphene-based solar cell could be only 1.3 watts.

Benefits of OPV

But what graphene organic photovoltaic (OPV) lack in efficiency, can potentially be compensated by its lower price and, greater physical flexibility.

Researchers think that it may eventually be possible to cover with inexpensive solar cell layers extensive areas like newspapers, magazines or power generating clothing.

In the meanwhile Prof. Ruoff and his colleagues of the mechanical engineering department at the University of Texas at Austin, are studying the basic science in the development of graphene-based ultracapacitors for usage in electronics and other fields.

Batteries vs Ultracapacitors

Prof. Ruoff says batteries are relatively slow, they can store energy but require sometime to charge up, and then they distribute energy slowly, over time.

Ultracapacitors can be charged quickly, within seconds, and discharge in a short time, but, right now, they’re not able to store very much electrical energy.

The introduction of stable and less expensive ultracapacitors could be a key step in using wind or solar-generated power, specially if researchers can discover methods to enable capacitors to store energy longer, that is not yet possible.

Current Potential Usage

Even with their current storage capacity, the graphene devices could provide quick energy when needed in certain situations on the ecological way.

They could be used, as an example, to absorb the heat generated in braking an automobile or train, and store it for a short time, and use it for the electrical needs of the vehicle (i.e. starting the car or acceleration).

About the writer - Sophia H. Walker writes for the solar panel battery charger blog, her personal hobby site focused on tips to help individuals save energy using solar power for small devices.

Small businesses will always strive for ways to reduce their outgoings, particularly in an unfavorable economic climate such as the one we find ourselves in. One good way to reduce expenditure is to look at utilities; switching suppliers or reducing usage can help with energy bills, although it can often be a complicated task.

One way that small businesses are beginning to benefit from attempting to reduce their outgoings is through generating their own electricity. Previously the costs associated with generating electricity prohibited small businesses from considering this option, but  generating your own power is becoming a relatively affordable thing to do.

Increasingly generating electricity is becoming a viable option for small businesses, who can pocket the reduced utility bills, and even selling surplus energy back to the National Grid. Here are three ways in which small businesses can generate their own electricity.

Solar Panels

There are two ways in which solar power can be used to generate electricity. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) uses the sun’s energy to boil some water, while Photo-Voltaic (PV) solar panels convert the energy directly into electricity.

Photo-Voltaic solar panels are still reasonably expensive, but can generate a significant amount of electricity. These are solar panels which use light, so they can still generate power even on grey, overcast days although obviously not as much as long, sunny days.

One problem with solar panels is that they tend to mean power is only available during the day, when the sunlight is casting onto the panels. For domestic properties this can mean that solar panels are not appropriate, but for many businesses the majority of energy use takes place during office hours, when the sun is shining.

Either way, it will be useful to store the energy being generated, so most PV systems come with batteries which can be charged.

Another solution is to sell your energy surplus back to your electrical supplier (as long as you are still connected to the National Grid) and then paying them for your electricity when the sun goes down and you’re no longer generating power.

Wind Turbines

Wind turbines are experiencing a rise in popularity recently, particularly due to the shrinking price of micro-turbines in DIY stores.

While it may seem like the perfect solution, with the wind blowing all day and night, the amount of electricity which can actually be gleaned from these wind turbines is often negligible, depending on the specific location.

Wind speeds are always faster above ground level, at heights above an average house. The wind disturbance caused by other buildings around it further decreases the amount of electricity which can be generated.

A large turbine on the edge of a building where it can receive clean, fast air is more likely to generate a decent amount of energy, but there is also the annoyance of the noise of the blades spinning around.

Combined Heat & Power Units

Another method of generating electricity which is bound to become more widely available in the future is the use of Combined Heat and Power units (CHPs).

While they were previously only suitable for large buildings like factories and universities now small CHP generators are on the market, running on natural gas. The heat generated is channeled to provide heating and hot water for the building and is no less efficient than a modern gas boiler.

Future Benefits

While the technology required to generate electricity may still require a sizable initial outlay, the benefits should be apparent for years and years for a small business, with greatly reduced energy bills. As fossil fuels become scarcer the price of energy is bound to keep rising, so it’s no surprise that forward-thinking businesses are beginning to attempt to run under their own steam.

While these opportunities for businesses to save money on their energy use are still worth investigating, many of the technologies are not yet developed appropriately for businesses, and should probably be considered as future prospects rather than immediate changes.

Save Money Now

Most small businesses could be saving money now by switching business electricity supplier and employing energy-saving measures such as using natural light and ventilation where possible, avoiding leaving equipment on standby and turning off lights in rooms that aren’t in use.

This article was written by Adam Cairn on behalf of uSwitch for Business, a price comparison website, helping small and medium-sized businesses save money on their energy costs.

Konarka Technologies has recently released a press release regarding the first ever demonstration of inkjet printed solar cells. According to Konarka’s president and CEO, Rick Hess:

Demonstrating the use of inkjet printing technology as a fabrication tool for highly efficient solar cells and sensors with small area requirements is a major milestone

Konarka Technologies is a company that specializes in organic photovoltaics - solar cells made from plastics (as opposed to silicon).

The ability to print solar cells from an inkjet printer opens up the possibilities of how solar energy can be produced. Konarka is interested in working with partners to explore innovative ways of integrating solar power into products. For example, they have already partnered with Air Products to develop windows that generate electricity.

Although organic photovoltaics is not as efficient as using silicon cells - organic photovoltaics is around 5% efficiency, compared to 15% to 20% efficiency with silicon solar cells - it does allow for a wider range of solar applications, which can only be a good thing. Furthermore, Konarka’s chairman and co-founder, Howard Berke has said that he expects organic photovoltaics to ultimately approach silicon’s efficiency.

I notice that Konarka are billing this as the “first ever demonstration of inkjet printed solar cells…”. I suspect that this is because it’s not the first time we’ve heard of solar cells produced by printing techniques. A team of Japanese researchers have also succeeded in doing this.

In any case, it’s good news for the future of solar energy.