Flexible Solar Panels: An Overview
Recently, newer designs of solar panels have emerged and are gradually breaking through to the market's mainstream. These are the flexible solar panels which promise to reduce the costs of production and manufacture for many companies. It's certainly good news for everyone since this'll contribute to making solar technology available for everyone concerned, and at the same time, it'll create even more possibilities for scientists to explore.
What They Are
Also known as flexible thin-film modules, they are made up of third generation solar cells that are quite advanced due to their ability to be highly efficient at a very low cost. The solar cells in these panels are basically thin-film cells in which they're deposited onto a flexible layer (substrate). Basically, the cells are grouped into modules. They're laminated onto colorless fluoropolymers on its front side and another polymer that's suitable for bonding to another layer/substrate on its other side. Solar electric panels currently use amorphous silicon triple junctions though, but perhaps, in time, more-advanced flexible thin-film modules will dominate the market and become the standard.
Easier Manufacture
These flexible thin-film panels have gradually been generating a lot of commercial interest due to the fact that it enables manufacturers a more efficient process of mass producing them. Just like the speed printing of newspapers, they're manufactured in almost the same way. Using roll-to-roll reactors, they're basically created quickly and in long sheets. That's one main reason why the new solar panels are extremely easy to mass produce. Also, it cuts down the costs for manufacturers simply because they don't have to make large robotic plants for their production.
Flexibility Applications
The main reason why these solar panels are flexible is because they're extremely lightweight. These thin film solar panels are being considered by space programs such as NASA simply because they're easier to install and they're easier to replace. Repair times on a satellite or a space shuttle will significantly decrease. Other possibilities will even reach the military or entertainment business as these new solar panels gain more exposure. Due to its flexibility, the solar cells can conform to various surfaces. Currently, almost all solar panels are just too big to be placed anywhere. They'd specifically need a wide enough space so as to function and capture the sunlight properly. With these thin films, they only need proper sun exposure, and that they'd fit in most narrow surfaces.
CIGS
Some designs are basically made by processing CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenium) into the cells of the flexible solar panels. The CIGS material is first deposited onto a basic 10-inch wide polymer web before being processed into the solar cells. Although only a few manufacturers have the facilities to create these flexible solar cells, people are working to commercialize this technology in order for the CIGS-based panels to achieve mainstream status. The fact that CIGS-based solar cells is relatively easy to manufacture than most other solar panels, it seems that it's the hardest thin-film panel to create. However, it happens to be a highly efficient technology because it can easily achieve the 10 percent minimum of solar cell conversion.
Printable
It may sound strange, but these thin film panels will become printable by anyone in the future. It may not come as quick as people would hope it to be, but the prospect that these printable solar electric panels will come in the next decade or so is high. That's because these are mostly polymer-based solar cells, which makes them organic. It's a simple and cheap alternative to most other solar panels. Imagine printing these solar panels onto the roof of your car or on your roof. You can even print them on the sides of building walls, houses, or even balloons. That might sound like science fiction, but know that the idea of the cell-phone came from a 1960s TV show called Star Trek. Printing solar cells is highly possible because the solar cells use carbon nanotubes complex as a conductor. Nanotubes are basically 50,000 times smaller than human hair and it's even a better conductor than copper wire.
Main Usage
Although technically, and because of their size, these thin film solar panels can't really compete with the bigger solar panels. Not yet, anyway. But in the future, they'll certainly dominate the market simply because scientists are working to improve their efficiency. Today, these flexible panels are still only applicable to smaller applications. Although some are already beginning to break through to bigger applications, they really weren't created to compete with the bigger solar panels. If anything, they were created to supplement the areas where the bigger solar panels cannot reach. Currently, most thin-films are being used to power smaller applications such as laptops, mp3 players, cell-phones, and other portable devices. Basically, they're used in conjunction with solar chargers. However, it seems that the direction that the thin-films are basically heading to is straight along the path of nanotechnology.
The Future
Solar electric panels are definitely headed into the direction of flexible thin film technology. It might not be next year or it might not even come in the next decade, but it's a certainty that this third evolution of solar cells will become a standard. Some have speculated that solar flakes will be the next best thing. That may be so, but flexible solar panels will be the basis on how those solar flakes will evolve. In fact, without the solar panels' implementation of nanotubes, the nano flakes probably would have been eventually incorporated into the thin-film technology. In other words, flexible solar panels will dominate first before the solar flakes do.
People are ready to jump into the solar power trend. The only thing that's holding them back is due to the high prices. Flexible solar panels are an answer to that. The technology's already there; it's only a matter of time.